Ranma Joins the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament
by wingsofseyfert12
Summary: After defeating Saffron, Ranma feels unsatisfied with his life due to the lack of challenging opponents. Then, Ranma finds himself participating in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. Will Ranma win it all?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All rights to the name "Ranma" belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi. All rights to "Dragonball" belong solely to Akira Toriyama. Any events that are to be taken place in this story is fictional and in no way canon.

Author's Note: This is the re-written part. Not much difference really but some minor errors cleaned up here and there. I hope this is a somewhat better version. Hope you all enjoy!

--

Ranma sighed as he effortlessly dodged yet another one of his father's attacks during their routine sparring at the crack of a summer dawn at the Tendo's rooftop. The father, Genma Saotome, noticed this sign of boredom and did not take to it lightly as he immediately began a verbal barrage.

"Stupid boy, what do you think you're gaining by mocking me? If it is because you think you're better than me than I'll ju-umph!" Genma Saotome did not finish as Ranma easily dodged a jab his father made and retaliated with a strong kick to the midsection of the older man. Genma fell straight down and landed in the koi pond with a giant splash. Immediately, Ranma's father jumped out of the water and as a panda, aimed a flying kick to Ranma while holding a sign that said, "That was a lucky shot!" Ranma snorted at this remark.

"C'mon pop, you know that I'm WAY better than you are." bragged Ranma as he dodged his father's kick, grabbed the panda's right arm and swung down with all his might, letting the panda go at the edge of the rooftop, causing Genma Saotome to fall down about twelve feet down before landing with a resounding "thud." Ranma winced as he witnessed his father land on the hard ground, causing a small crater form from his impact.

"Maybe I went a little too hard on him." thought Ranma as he jumped down the roof and raced over to the crater. As soon as he got there, Ranma peered in to see an unconcious panda with his eyes going in little cyclones and holding up a sign that said "I'm alright." Ranma bent down and took his father back to the house to get tended to.

--

Later that day, Ranma was making his way over to the grocery store to pick up a few items from Kasumi. He hadn't even gone out a block when heard the ring of a bicycle bell. Knowing who it was, Ranma turned and gracefully dodged the bicycle that was about to ram him. Immediately afterwards, Ranma felt lithe arms embrace him and the smell of soft lilac as he was drawn in by none other than Shampoo.

"Nihao, Ranma! You come to see Shampoo, yes?" asked Shampoo as she gripped Ranma tight. For as long as Ranma has been living alongside Shampoo, he always wondered why he could never dodge her. Then again, getting hugged by someone who is completely enamored by you wasn't the worst thing in the world and Ranma then thought that maybe if it wasn't if could or could not dodge her embrace but whether if wanted to or not. Yet, here, he tried to play innocent.

"Uh, hi Shampoo. Could you, ah, let me go?" asked Ranma as he tried to pry himself away from Shampoo.

"You no want to stay with Shampoo? Is it because of stupid violent girl?" asked Shampoo furiously as she was filled with hallucinations of Ranma's food getting laced with some love potion concocted by an evil, cackling, Akane.

"N-No, it has nothing to do with Akane. It's just tha-" A knife whizzed towards Ranma at high speed. Immediately, Ranma caught it between two fingers.

"RANMA SAOTOME. LET GO OF MY SHAMPOO RIGHT NOW!!!!!" roared an enraged Mousse as he threw another knife, again caught by Ranma. Shampoo, at this point, got up and was fuming.

"Mousse, go away! You no see that Ranma and Shampoo are busy?"

"I can't let you fall for this scoundrel Shampoo. I will defeat him here and now and you'll soon be married to me!" cried Mousse as he started to unleash a menagerie of weapons at Ranma. Ranma dodged with ease as he moved to and fro, avoiding lethal knives and spears and clubs as he tried to reason with Mousse.

"Hey man, I wasn't doing nuthing." said Ranma in his defense as he shattered a wooden pole that was thrown at him.

"You lie! Even now, you have contracted Shampoo's scent on your foul person. How dare you! You will die by my hand today!" roared Mousse in fury as he raised his battle aura to its limit.

"Man, he looks like he's really being serious here but something's not right. For some reason, his battle aura is not as high as it used to. Did he get weaker? Is he neglecting his training? If he is, then he has no hope in defeating me!" thought Ranma as Mousse made his way to him at top speed. But to Ranma, it was slow, very slow. Mousse was about to unleash everything from his sleeves but was suddenly stopped by a forceful blow. Ranma, with insane speed, rushed to Mousse and punched Mousse's stomach...hard. Very hard. Blood came out of Mousse's mouth as he slumped to the floor, unconscious.

"Crap, I did it again." thought Ranma as Shampoo rushed over to his side, jumping up and down in joy.

"See, stupid duck boy no match for airen! Ranma just too too strong for you!" yelled Shampoo at an unconscious Mousse. Ranma, though, could see that Mousse's condition was not trivial.

"Shampoo, stop that. I need you to take Mousse and have the old ghoul take a look at him." said Ranma sternly. Shampoo, willing to please Ranma, obliged.

"Ok Ranma. Me take Mousse to see elder but don't forget that Shampoo will be back." said Shampoo as she lifted Mousse and took him back to the Cat Cafe. Ranma turned away as he made his destination to the grocery store.

--

It was still a very peaceful day when Ranma emerged from the grocery store holding two brown bags to carry back to the Tendo household. As he strolled back home, Ranma was appreciating the peace and quiet yet he was still troubled from his last fight with Mousse.

"Man, it's not like Mousse was holding back or anything. I mean, he was fighting me for real and yet, his battle aura felt puny compared to the last time I fought him seriously. What happened to him? I really hoped he hasn't been neglecting his training cause if he is, then I'm never going to get Shampoo off my back. Still, the fight was too easy, just like this morning. Both him and my father used to always fight me evenly but as of late, I ended up injuring them both pretty seriously. What is going on here?" thought Ranma as he strolled down the street.

"Then again, this isn't the first time this has happened. Not too long ago, that Pantyhose dude came over to fight the old freak again and transformed into that bull riding whatchamacallit. I remember before having to fight for my life against that cursed form but now, it felt easy, even as a girl. Heck, I floored him in less than five minutes. Even Ryoga hasn't been that challenging as of late. The last time he was here, I only needed to land five hundred punches as opposed to over a thousand to floor him that time, and that was in what? three minutes? He didn't even have time to prepare a proper Shi-Shi-Hakodan."

"Maybe it's not them but me. After having fought the likes of Herb and Saffron, I guess I grew accustomed to fighting beings with inhuman strength and supernatural abilities. Having fought them makes fighting someone like Ryoga and Mousse a walk in the park now. Even the old freak ain't a match for me anymore. Sure, he can hold his own but his old age leaves him with little stamina. I guess this had to happen sometime."

So Ranma continued with his thoughts as he got home.

--

A week after the fight with Mousse, Ranma was informed that Mousse was going to be okay but that he was not going to work for a while. His father made a full recovery and insisted on continuing the morning spars but if those lasted longer than two minutes then it was two minutes too long. Normally Ranma would exploit the very first opening his father would make and deck him in one punch, thus ending the sparring for the morning.

During that week, Ryoga managed to show up and fought Ranma on three different occasions and lost all three fights in under five minutes. Even Mousse, injured as he was, attempted to take revenge for his injury and was knocked unconscious mid-sentence in his death threat.

--

So another month passed and soon, Ranma was getting very bored. Absolutely no one in Nerima with the exception of the Amazon Elder and Happosai could last longer than three minutes against him. Ranma began to neglect his training.

And It was not like he trained very diligently to begin with but now, he just competely stopped. He didn't even bother to spar with his father anymore, thinking that it was just the old man's excuse to make life miserable for him by waking him up at 5:00 AM. Ever since defeating a near deity like Saffron whipping up on the local competition had lost it luster because it was _too easy, _even for him. It was then that Ranma grew to realize one thing.

He was the best. At first he was jubilant, jumping up and down bragging but soon, it hit him. There was no one out there better than him. He no longer trained in the art because it bored him. If there was no one stronger than him, why bother training?

And it was not like Ranma did not try to find someone stronger. He roamed all over Japan, challenging entire dojos and defeating them with ease. He had Happosai cook up some super soupa and had Ryoga eat it. Ryoga ate it, not knowing what it was and soon, Ranma got him angry and they fought.

The match was intense for a while as Ryoga's already inhuman strength now was off the charts. Still, Ryoga's speed had not increased at all though Ranma was having to dodge vehicles and lamp posts being thrown at him.

But, in the end, Ranma managed to catch Ryoga in the _Hiry__ū Shoten Ha_ and won the match, though barely. Even so, Ryoga soon found out about the soup and was dismayed that he lost to Ranma, even with the advantage that he had. He left, claiming that he was going to "train in the mountains" and had not been seen since.

Then there were the fights with both Cologne and Happosai. For the first few minutes, the matches he had with these two old masters would be intense. As a matter of fact, they always were able to out do him for the first five minutes or so. Ranma relished these fights with them as he could go all out and know that he could still lose.

But old age would catch up with them and after a while, they simply could not keep up. After about ten minutes, if they were not able to beat Ranma decisevely, both would throw the fight, knowing that to fight Ranma any longer would be pointless.

So, in the end, Ranma could conclude that the only possible way for him to lose was if both Cologne and Happosai were to team up against him or that they finish him off when they still had steam but in either case, the old freak was never around due to his panty raids and Cologne was usually too busy to be sparring with him.

As such, Ranma was usually very bored.

--

It was the second month and school was near the corner already. It was a nice day and Ranma decided to go and take walk. Lately, he had been walking alot since he no longer trained but still, he tried to think of ways to have someone beat him in combat.

"Maybe I should have Akane wear the super-suit and eat the super soupa and have her challenge me. I'm pretty sure that with those advantages, she COULD beat me, even if she has sloppy form." thought Ranma as he was walking downtown.

"I think not. She would be no match for you." said a voice in Ranma's head that did not belong to him.

"Who's there? W-Who are you?" asked Ranma out loud as he got into battle position, ready for anything.

"Such spunk you have young one. Yes, I sense great power coming from you and judging from your voice, you seem troubled." Ranma shook his, trying to get the voice out of his head but to no avail.

"Show yourself! Stop playing these games, I'm serious!" said Ranma as he began to raise his battle aura. The voice just chuckled.

"You want to see me. Fine, just step into my shop." said the voice before fading away. Ranma shook his head, wondering as to what he heard and then turned to see an old shop right in front of him. It said:

Chou's Shop of Stuff

You need it we got it!

"Funny, never seen this place before?" thought Ranma as he entered. He was met with a dark room filled with all sorts of collegnous junk. Broken chairs hung over piles of old frames and vases. There was a damp, musty smell coming from the place.

"Man, what freaking dump. Why am I wasting my time here anyway?"

"Because you want to get your wish granted." replied the voice. Ranma was about to tell the voice to get out of his head when he realized that the voice was external and that it came from the room he was in.

"Where are you?" asked Ranma as he tried to look for the mystery person.

"Right here!" said the voice and on top, Ranma could see a short, old man sitting on a rocking chair on top of three broken washing machines. The old man leaped down and landed in front of Ranma. He had a long beard with bright blue eyes and looked somewhat foreign. The old man bowed quickly before offering his hand.

"Chou's the name and who might you be?" asked the old man.

"Ranma Saotome!" answered Ranma as he took the hand and shook it firmly.

"Nice to see ya. I managed to hear your thoughts not too long ago and it seems that you are in bit of a predicament." said the old man.

"Wait a sec. YOU can read thoughts?" asked a stunned Ranma.

"Why, yes I can. Been able to do it since as long as I can remember. Useful though annoying as there are so many thoughts floating around that its a mess trying to sort them out." replied the old man.

"Then how did you pick my thoughts up when there must be hundreds of people walking around here?" asked Ranma.

"Simple, your thoughts projected much clearer than the others. It seems that when a person seems to have a nagging desire, their thoughts grow stronger and clearer. Your desire to find someone who can beat you in combat is very high indeed and I can help you with that!" said the old man with a smile.

"R-Really! You can find me a strong opponent to fight?" asked Ranma in excitement.

"Well yes, with this!" The old man reached deep in his pockets and produced what looked like a small TV. Ranma frowned as soon as he saw it.

"And how is THAT piece of junk going to help me?" asked Ranma mockingly.

"Fool! This is no junk. What you are seeing is a dimensional transporter. In this universe there are several different dimensions. Some are more dangerous than others. Some are full of life while others have none at all. There are infinite possibilities. Here on this knob." The old man pointed to a knob on the small "TV." "You can adjust the transporter to show you a vision of a certain dimension when you twist it. For example, lets turn the knob to show us channel 32243."

The old man turned the knob around as green digital numbers blurred on the black space above. The numbers stopped on "channel" 32243 and there on the screen was Akane helping Kasumi with some clothes. The screen flashed and it showed Ryoga using his _Bakusai Tenketsu _on some giant boulders in a mountain range. The screen flashed once more and it showed Mousse trying to please Shampoo to no success. Soon, the images stopped as the old man pressed down on the knob.

"So you see young fellow. Channel 32243 is our dimension. What you just saw were no doubt some of your friends and such."

"How do I know that you aren't pulling a fast one on me? You might just be filming all of us like some sick old pervert or something!" accused Ranma. The old man growled at him, his beard rustling.

"Imbecile! I'm not an old pervert and I am not recording anyone. Go ahead, choose a channel and I gurantee that it will show you another dimension." Ranma grabbed the "TV" from the old man and began twisting the knob. The screen went into one of those white noise scenes as Ranma twisted the dial. Soon, he got to where he was looking for. The numbers on the screen read 000000000 for about another twenty digits.

"There old man, let's see what zero has to offer us!" said Ranma. The screen began to go hazy and then, a loud piercing noise came from the room. The "TV" started to shake as it was bouncing up and down.

"Change it, change it! The TV only does that if it finds a dimension that would be far too perlious for you. It has sensed your power and it is telling you that the powers that be in this dimension surpass yours. It is too risky! We must find another channel!" shouted the old man, trying to get his voice over the noise.

"No way old man! If this place is so dangerous, then I want to see what I got then!" said Ranma.

"I said no! You can't! It's too dangerous!"

"Just shaddup ya old man and tell me how to get to this dimension!" The old man looked at Ranma and saw a face of grim determination. He could sense the restlessness from Ranma's being. He could feel that Ranma wanted this, that he wanted to be challenged. He could not turn him down.

"Ok, fine, I'll show you. You see there on the side? There are two buttons. One is green to go in and one is red to get out. Once you enter this dimension, you must guard this item with your life. If you lose it, you'll be stranded. Just make me this promise kid. If things get too dangerous, just press the red button and get back here. Don't try to be a hero, you understand?" said the old man.

"Sure, sure. So, this button, right?" asked Ranma as he pointed to the large green button on the left side of the "TV."

"Yes."

"Well, I'm off then!" said Ranma as he pressed it and vanished into thin air in front of the old man's eyes.

"I really hope that I made the right decision by letting him do that." said the old man before he propped himself back on his rocking chair and fell asleep.

--

The skies turned a dark grey as she pulled an umbrella out to shield her from the incoming rain. She was a young woman, not much older than twenty and had short, teal colored hair that barely touched her shoulders. She wore a blue one piece that ended with a skirt that ended just above her knees. A rather attractive woman, or a rare beauty as she would call herself.

Her name was Bulma Briefs, daughter of the famous Dr. Briefs who was a great renowned scientist. So here she was, waiting in front of what would be the site of the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament as she awaited friends that she had not seen in over three years. Next to her was a table with two men garbed in robes similar to that of monks. There they awaited the registration of the fighters.

"Only twenty more minutes before registration closes." announced of the men. Bulma sighed.

"Gosh, where can they be? If they don't hurry soon, they'll miss out on the registration." thought Bulma. As the poured down harder she saw a taxi suddenly stop in front of her. She gasped in joyful anticipation, hoping to see one of her friends. No such luck. Out of the taxi came out an old man with shades, a talking pig and a flying cat. Bulma's frowned a bit in disappointment but suddenly perked up again.

"Hey guys! Over here!" said Bulma as she waved at them. The old man, the pig and the cat ambled on towards her. As soon as they got there, the old man's face suddenly turned red as he saw the woman in front of him.

"My Bulma, you have really grown. Do mind if I-" The old man attempted to grab one of Bulma's breasts but she smacked him hard with her hand-bag, stopping him.

"I guess some things NEVER change, do they Master Roshi!" roared the angry Bulma as the old man named Master Roshi slumped to the ground, getting wet in the process. Bulma turned to see both the pig and the flying cat shaking their heads in disappointment.

"Hey there Oolong and Puar, how's it going?" asked Bulma cheerfully.

"Oh nothing, just here to watch the tournament is all." replied the pig, Oolong. The flying cat, Puar started to look side to side, as if she were looking for something.

"Have you seen Yamcha yet?" asked Puar in a squeaky voice.

"No, I haven't seen him three years. I bet he's not even training. Probably jilting me." replied Bulma in anger. The old man, Roshi, recovered from his slight coma and righted himself.

"Oh pooey, my clothes are all wet." he said with a pout.

"I wonder who's fault THAT is, huh?" asked Oolong sarcastically.

"So, Bulma, you have not seen anyone come in yet?" asked Roshi seriously this time.

"No, not anyone. I hope they are not too late. I would hate to see them come and find out that their training was for nothing 'cause they could not register in time." said Bulma somewhat sadly.

"Don't worry, I'm confident that they'll be here." said Roshi reassuringly.

"I hope so." said Bulma before she suddenly felt herself collide with an object and fall to the wet pavement.

--

As soon as he pressed the green button, all Ranma saw was a blinding flash of light before darkness consumed him. He woke up when he felt the dreaded pitter-patter of cold water on him.

"Oh crap, it's raining. Gotta get up and hide before I change into a girl." thought Ranma as he lifted himself from the ground. "Where to hide, where to hide?" thought Ranma as he started to run around frantically to get out of the rain. It was no use. The rain came down hard and Ranma felt himself change into a a busty, red headed girl.

"Wonderful. Just wonderful. I guess now that I'm a girl, I could look around and see what's up here." thought Ranma as she started to traverse the streets. As she did so, Ranma could not help but feel as if the old man was exaggerating the whole time about this dimension being so dangerous.

"This place looks normal. Heck, almost too normal." thought Ranma as she saw people just walking around in their umbrellas, minding their own business. No sign of purple haired girls wanting to hug her, no sign of terminally depressed guys trying to kill her, no sign of unsightly tomboys wanting to smack her. Ranma could not help but sigh in dissapointment. Here she wanted to test the limits of her own strength, to give her a reason to train in the art again. But all she saw were normal people doing normal things.

As Ranma got the dimensional "TV" out to go back to her own world, she suddenly felt a strong, no, powerful battle aura coming from down the street. The battle aura felt similar to Happosai's in both texture and power.

"Ok, maybe there might be SOME good fighters here. I gotta take a look." said Ranma as she sprinted towards the location of the power. As she got closer, she noticed a huge wall surrounding what looked like an arena of some sort. Interested, Ranma followed it and ran into a teal haired woman as she did so. Both fell with an "omph" from both their parts. Ranma immediately got up to start apologizing.

"I-I'm so sorry ma'm. I should have looked where I was going." stammered Ranma as he tried to help the teal haired woman up.

"Geez you bozo, watch where you're-" Bulma paused. She looked up, surprised to hear a feminine voice. She expected it was some man who wanted to cop a feel from her but saw instead a cute, red-headed girl standing right in front of her. The girl looked geniuenly concerned for bumping into her and had sympathetic eyes as she held out her hand in a gesture of assistance.

"It's nothing. Sorry for shouting at you." said Bulma as she took Ranma's hand and heaved herself up.

"I deserve it. I should have looked where I was going." said Ranma rather solemnly. Then, she felt a familiar pair of hands grab her bosom and suddenly turned and floored the old man in one punch while shouting.

"I told you ya old freak to stop doing that!" she roared at the unconscious old man before her. Ranma then gasped to find out that it wasn't the old freak Happosai that grabbed her.

"I'm so sorry. I just thought tha-"

"It's okay. He does that all the time. Had you not hit him, I would have done so myself. That's what he gets the old pervert." growled Bulma. She seethed a bit before she turned to Ranma.

"Say, what's your name anyway?" she asked kindly.

"The name is Ranma, Ranma Saotome."

"Ranma huh. Such a cute name." replied Bulma before continuing. "Let me introduce you to the others. This is Oolong, this is Puar, the old pervert on the ground is Master Roshi and I, the most beautiful specimen on this planet am Bulma, the one and only!"

"Gosh she has quite the ego." thought Ranma as he bowed in respect to Oolong, Puar, the recovering Master Roshi and Bulma. As Master Roshi righted himself, he was quite impressed with the power that Ranma possessed. He could not help but question.

"Young lady, that sure was impressive. I never thought a woman would be able to knock me down in just one blow with her bare hands. You must be a proficent martial artist, are you not?" asked Roshi. It was at this moment that Ranma could feel Master Roshi's battle aura. Even though he was old, she felt that he quite powerful, comparable to Happosai and Cologne. Ranma, at that moment, though, jumped at the question.

"Why yes I am trained in _Musabetsu Kakut_ō _Ryū _or _Anything Goes Martial Arts._" said Ranma with a hint of pride. Master Roshi nodded a bit.

"In all my years of living, I have never heard of such a fighting style, but who knows. Do plan in participating in today's tournament?" asked Roshi. In a flash, Ranma's eyes went wide with excitement.

"Y-You mean that there is gonna be a martial arts tournament today?" stammered Ranma in excitement.

"Yes. The most powerful fighters in the world are coming to participate. If you think you can handle it, you should sign up." suggested Roshi. Ranma thought about this for a moment. Even though she was excited, she could not help but feel as if she was going to be disappointed. She turned to Roshi and asked.

"I sense you are quite strong Master. Will you be participating?" asked Ranma, eager to hear that yes, the old man would be participating. He looked strong and she wanted to fight him.

"No, I will not. My students will fight in this tournament. I am too old to participate." replied Roshi. At that, Ranma's face suddenly drooped in disappointment.

"I knew it was too good to be true. I know the old man is strong but if only his students are gonna participate, then why should I bother? I'll win no problem." thought Ranma rather sadly.

Roshi noticed the disappointment in Ranma's face. He could tell with his senses that the red-headed girl was strong, very strong. She was probably stronger than himself. Yet, when he told her that only his students would be participating, he saw the excitment fade. He could tell that she wanted to test her power to the limit.

"She probably thinks that I'm the strongest one here and is disappointed that only my students are participating. Maybe I should cheer her up." thought Roshi as he placed his hand on Ranma's shoulder and said.

"Don't look so disappointed. I admit, yes only my students are participating but they are strong. All three of them have surpassed me now and there are other fighters participating that can match them in skill and power."

The sun began to shine through the grey clouds as the rain stopped. Ranma suddenly shook with excitment as she heard these words.

"H-He has students that surpass him? And other fighters comparable to them as well? Man, that's me! Fighters even stronger than this old man, man I gotta enter!" thought Ranma with glee.

"Where do I enter?" asked Ranma. Before either Bulma, Puar, Oolong or Roshi could reply, her question was answered.

"Registration will end in ten minutes. Any one who wants to participate in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, please sign in now." announced one of the men at the registration table. Ranma ran to the table and scribbled her name down at the sign in list. The man gave her a smile and as she finished registering, the man gave her a "Good Luck." saying before Ranma joined the others.

"There you go. Now you are signed in. Now if only the others were to come now." said Bulma. Ranma waited the group before she asked.

"Hey, Master. Do you happen to know all the people you talked about?"

"Yes. Three of them are my students and the rest are from other disciplines. They should be here soon...I hope."

"Well, I'm here." said a calm voice from behind them. The entire group turned to see a young man, about eighteen or nineteen years of age. He was well built, chisled in muscle and had what looked like a turban on his head. He was quite tall, taller than all of them and had a red gi on.

"Who are you?" asked Roshi as he approached the stranger. The stranger looked a bit confused as he heard this question.

"Why it's me, Master? Don't you recognize me?" asked the man.

"I'm sorry, but I don't ever remember training you." said Roshi. The mystery man looked somewhat desperate and turned to Bulma.

"Hey, Bulma. When did you get so short?" he asked. Bulma stuttered a bit, apparently shocked at how a total stranger knew her name yet offended at the same time at being called short.

"H-H-How do you know me? I don't know you? And besides, I'm not that short!" said Bulma, annoyed. The mystery man seemed beat, that it, until he saw Ranma.

"And who might you be?" he asked. Ranma, suddenly on the defensive. She did not know who this man was but whoever he was, he was talking to the wrong crowd.

"Why don't you tell us who YOU are first." said Ranma defensively.

The man looked hard pressed at this point and as he tried to scratch his head, he suddenly realized why the group could not recognize him.

"Oh, I guess this is in the way. I'm Goku, see." replied the man as the turban unraveled to reveal black, spiky hair pointed out in different directions. In a second, Ranma could see the faces of Oolong, Puar, Master Roshi and Bulma suddenly beam with excitment and joy as all of them made for the man at once, all surrounding him and hugging him.

"Why, Goku, it has been so long! My have you grown!" said Bulma as she eyed Goku up and down, not believing that this was the same kid that she picked up years ago.

"Goku has become a man now." said Roshi with pride.

"Indeed he has." said Oolong.

"So, have Tien, Yamcha and Krillen come yet?" asked Goku. Immediately, the joyous faces turned downcast. It was Bulma who stepped forward to answer.

"No they haven't. I hope they are not late." she said.

"I'm sure that they'll come. They haven't gone out to train for three years for nothing!" said Goku confidently.

"I hope you're right. You should register." said Bulma as she took Goku to get him registered. When they did that, Goku and Bulma joined the rest of the group as the awaited the last fighters.

During the wait, Ranma began to study Goku a bit. According to the old man, this Goku was once his disciple. Yet, Ranma could not get a firm reading from him. The battle aura he was putting out was puny but Ranma had the distinct feeling that this Goku was concealing most of it. To do something like that would require years upon years of mental training.

"I guess I'll have to wait until he gets into the ring." thought Ranma as she waited with the others. It was at this time that she saw the man, Goku, make his way towards her.

"Hey there, I still haven't got your name." asked Goku politely.

"Oh, the name's Saotome, Ranma Saotome."

"Glad to meet you, Ranma Saotome. From what Bulma told me, you registered to participate. That makes me happy for I sense a great power coming from you. I look forward to fighting you." said Goku as he extended his hand. Ranma took it and gripped firmly as she shook it.

"I look forward to it too." said Ranma, yet as she shook Goku's hand, she felt for a split second, the amount of power that Goku was conserving. Ranma almost buckled and fell to her knees when she felt it. As they let go, Ranma felt her heart pumping rapidly.

"H-His power. It's unimaginable. I can't believe it. Is this guy even human?" thought Ranma as she started to shake again, but not from fear. It was pure, utter excitement. "H-He could actually beat me. No, maybe he might even slaughter me! Fighting a man like that will surely take me to my limit!"

"Registration will close in one minute. All those who wish to participate must do so now." announced one of the men at the registration table.

Goku and the others winced when they heard this.

"What's taking them so long. They have to be here or all their training will be worth nothing." thought Goku. Ranma, the only one not in suspended agony, wondered as to why they were waiting for these other guys.

"Registration will close in 10, 9, 8"

"Surely none of these other guys are as strong as this Goku person. They would only be wasting their and my time. Let the small fries just stay outta of the way an-" Ranma's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she felt a one, no four strong battle auras making their way towards them.

"It's them! They're coming!" shouted Goku as the rest of the group watched the end of the street in anticipation.

"7,6,5,4"

"They'll never make it in time." thought Ranma. The others in the crowd, however, were cheering for these people to hurry, even though, from what Ranma could tell, they were still at least a mile away.

"3,2"

Suddenly, a whirlwind flashed past the entire group. Ranma was nearly knocked down as dust covered the entire place. When the dust cleared, Ranma could only stare in shock and disbelief at the sight before her.

There stood a short bald man with incense marks on his forehead, a tall man with long black hair and a scar on his cheek, a small, pale child that seemed to be floating and a tall, bald man with three eyes and a white shirt.

Yamcha, Chaoutzu, Krillen and Tien have all finally arrived and at the nick of time."

--

Author's Note: Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this one. Anyway, have a good day!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: All rights to the name "Ranma" belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi. All rights to Dragonball belong solely to Akira Toriyama.

Author's Note: Nothing. Enjoy!

--

Ranma was still in utter shock as she saw the four fighters register at the last second. They scribbled their names in and it was official. They were now part of the tournament. All four of them then turned to Goku and started to converse.

"T-They cleared one mile in less than ten seconds a-and on foot at that. Just who exactly am I going up against?" thought Ranma as she stared at the four fighters, who looked very animated while speaking to Goku. One of these fighters, the bald one with incense marks, suddenly lunged at Goku, tears on his eyes.

"Goku, I-I can never thank you enough. When they brought me back to life, Bulma told me everything. How you defeated the Demon King Piccolo and everything you went through to gather all the dragon balls again. You're a true friend Goku." said Krillen.

"It's no problem! That's what friends are for!" exclaimed Goku. At that point, they let go of each other and Goku turned to speak to the others. This conversation did not go past Ranma though.

"What does that short one mean by saying he was brought back to life? Can dead people get resurrected from the dead in this dimension and what are dragonballs anyway?" thought Ranma as she kept to herself at the moment, trying to assess the situation and the potential of the new fighters that just showed up.

"Yamcha, is that you?" asked Puar.

"Who else can it be?" replied the tall, long haired man. Just 'cause I got a couple of minor scars doesn't mean that this face isn't any less irresistible!"

The cat suddenly made her way to Yamcha and crashed into him, burying her head into his chest.

"I missed you so much! You were gone for so long! I bet you are really powerful now!" said Puar in joy.

"Oh, you got that right! I'm much stronger than before!" replied Yamcha. Then, he felt a slight tap on his shoulder. Yamcha turned to see that it was Bulma. His nose nearly bled from seeing her.

"B-Bulma, is that you?" stammered Yamcha, apparently in disbelief at how the girl he was going out with was now a shapely, attractive woman.

"Well duh, Yamcha. Sheesh, did your muscles grow over your brain or something?" replied Bulma. Yamcha knew that sly, quick wit that Bulma possessed and immediately embraced her.

"I really missed you." said Yamcha.

"I did too." replied Bulma.

"There were many things I saw over the past three years. I am much stronger now. I will win, for you Bulma." proclaimed Yamcha. Bulma blushed slightly at the declaration.

"Oh, stop it, you're embarrassing me!" giggled Bulma like a little school girl.

Meanwhile, Ranma continued to watch the group. Krillen, Goku, Oolong, and Master Roshi were still conversing, all getting big laughs from time to time.

The tall bald man with three eyes was leaning against the way, his eyes closed. The white kid next to him did the same thing. It looked as if both were meditating. Yet, what Ranma did not know was that they were talking to each other using telepathy.

"Hey Chaoutzu, do you see that girl over there? Do you feel her power?" asked Tien

"Yes Tien. It seems to be really high. Are you worried that she might beat you?" asked Chaoutzu

"As if. She may be powerful but her power does not even come close to mine. What I don't get is why, with her power, that the Demon King failed to notice her during his reign of terror."

"What are you getting at Tien?" asked Chaoutzu.

"What I am saying is that she may not belong here." replied Tien.

"Are you saying that she is an alien or something?"

"No. She is human but still, her aura feels…odd. I can't point it out. It feels as if she is a puzzle piece placed on the wrong puzzle."

"What do you mean Tien?"

"Don't you feel it? The odd air coming from it?"

"Yes, but I'm just as confused as you are Tien."

"Interesting. Well, just be wary of her Chaoutzu. I am sure that our questions will be answered in due time."

"Alright, Tien." With that, they ended their mental link and made their way to the rest of the group. Ranma, meanwhile felt shivers go up her spine.

"Why do I feel as if someone was talking about me?" thought Ranma before she felt a small hand on her shoulder. Ranma turned to see the aqua haired Bulma.

"Hey there. We are going to head over to the hotel now. You can room with me." offered Bulma with a smile. Ranma began to panic.

"Wait a second! I can't room with 'cause-"

"Oh, don't be so ridiculous! We'll have so much fun. I want to pretty you up a little for your big day tomorrow so you can take on those beefcakes over there!" winked Bulma as she pointed to the five fighters, all conversing and all laughing, no doubt going over old times. Ranma gave a sigh of defeat.

"I guess I could room with you." mumbled Ranma as she shuffled alongside Bulma as the group made their way to the hotel.

--

It was a nice, sunny day as the whole crew stood at the sight of the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, ready to draw their numbers. Ranma could not get over the sight of it all. She thought that the group she was with were weird but the other fighters were even weirder.

There were some guys who were giants, well over seven feet tall. Then there were those animals who for some reason could walk and talk like normal people. Still, she had seen much weirder things and soon, paid no mind to them.

The night before was a nightmare for Ranma. First it was the baths, in which she took her's in very cold water. Then the hair brushing in which her tangles were painfully straightened out by Bulma. Then the perfumes, the trying on pink pajamas that Bulma insisted she wear, the make up in the morning. If living with a woman was going to be like this, then Ranma was having second thoughts about marrying Akane.

Because of this, Ranma decided that she would remain a girl for the meantime. She felt tempted to tell Bulma about her condition but the last thing she wanted was to have Bulma call her a pervert or something so she kept her male side a secret. At least, for right now.

As they were waiting for the drawing, Ranma headed towards Goku and the tall bald man called Tien. They seemed to be staring at something or better yet, at someone. She heard them chattering excitingly. She moved in closer to listen in a little better as she began to eavesdrop on them.

"You mean that one of the Demon King's spawn survived?" asked Tien in disbelief.

"In a matter of speaking." replied Goku. Ranma was instantly intrigued upon hearing about this "Demon King."

"Who is this Demon King anyway?" thought Ranma. Yet her question was answered. Right before her, she saw him.

He was tall, at least 6'2 and had a large upper body. He wore a turban over his head with a cape with shoulder blades that enlarged his already huge shoulders. He stared at them with a menacing glare before turning his back and making his way out of their sight.

"He looks powerful. I wonder if I can take him?" thought Ranma. Immediately, she heard a reply in her head.

"No you would not be able to defeat him. You are no where near powerful enough." replied a voice that sounded like Goku inside her head. Ranma was startled at first before replying again in her thoughts.

"Are you reading my thoughts?" asked Ranma mentally.

"Yes. This is telepathy. Listen to me Ranma. The person you see before you is the Demon King Piccolo's spawn. It would be wise to stay out of his way." warned Goku.

"He don't look so tough! I bet can take on green man anyday!" replied Ranma haughtily. Tien's face scowled a bit when he heard her declare this.

"Listen to me. I don't know who you are and where you come from but to say that is fool hardy. You would hardly be a match for the Demon King." said Tien. Ranma's hair suddenly stood on end as she heard this.

"What did you say? Are saying that I, Ranma Saotome, am weak?" replied Ranma telepathically, obviously offended.

"No I am not but I am stating facts. I don't want you to kill yourself challenging someone you can't beat." said Tien. Goku nodded in agreement.

"I am sorry Ranma but I have to agree with Tien. Now, if you could please keep this a secret from everyone. The last thing we want is for people to start panicking."

Ranma nodded in agreement but was still angry over what was told to her. She left Goku and Tien alone, away from them so they could not read her thoughts.

"I'll show them! I'll show them what I am capable of!"

--

Soon, the drawing came and there was much excitement at who would fight who. As they drew their numbers, Ranma noticed the small child with the name Chaoutzu would wink his fingers and smile every time someone from their group drew their numbers. She was suspicious at first but thought nothing of it was she soon drew her number.

After about an hour, everyone drew their numbers. Yamcha, Krillen, Tien, Goku, Chaoutzu and Ranma gathered around to show their numbers.

"I can't believe it! It looks like we are all in different platforms!" said Krillen joyously.

"That means that we won't have to fight each other, what a coincidence." said Yamcha.

Ranma could not help but feel as if there was some funny business going on and turned to see Chaoutzu and Tien winking at each other. "Oh brother." thought Ranma.

Suddenly, a woman made her presence in front of the group. She had long black hair with locks that fell on two sides of her face. She wore red pants and a blue robe with a small loincloth. She was very attractive.

"Goku! I can't believe it's you! Look at me. Do you recognize me?" she asked as she grabbed Goku's arm and brought him to her.

"What! Goku has a girl that likes him? Why wasn't I told about this?" asked Krillen in utter disbelief.

"Wow, I never knew Goku had it in him." said Yamcha. Goku, on the other hand, tried to get the woman off of him.

"Hey, hey, hey! Sorry but I don't ever remember seeing you." said Goku as he pried himself out of the woman's embrace. At hearing that, she suddenly fumed.

"GOKU! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FORGOT! YOU JERK!" With that, the woman stomped away, leaving Goku utterly clueless as to what had just happened. Ranma could not help but snicker.

"Well, it seems like I not the only one with girl problems. Gosh she is so uncut when she is angry, she kinda reminds me of Akane a bit." thought Ranma. Ranma went over to Goku and placed her hand on his back.

"I know your pain man, I know your pain." said Ranma. Goku was dumbfounded. He just stuttered.

"Well, I don't know why she's so angry. I never met her before."

"C'mon Goku. Don't tell me you never met this hot chick before. Seriously, what were you doing these past three years, really." asked Yamcha suspiciously.

"Training! I mean, I have NEVER seen her before." said Goku desperately in his defense.

"Sure Goku, sure." said Krillen as the crew went over to their perspective platforms.

--

The first mach was Goku vs. a man that called himself a king. He was a large black man with an afro. Ranma was excited to see this. Ever since yesterday, he sorely wanted to see Goku in action and now, it was time to see what Goku got.

"Begin!" said the announcer as the fight commenced. At first, nothing happened as the King taunted Goku over and over again and saying as to how much more powerful he was. Ranma could not help but notice Goku's lack of a defensive stance.

"He must be really confident about his opponent." thought Ranma. Then, it happened. The King attacked Goku. "Ok Goku, let's see what you got." thought Ranma once more.

Immediately the King sent a fierce kick to Goku. Goku then phased out of the way and suddenly disappeared only to reappear out of nowhere and strike the King at the back of the neck with a strong chop. The King's eyes blanked out before he fell to the ground.

"The King is unable to continue the fight. The winner is Goku!" yelled the announcer as the crowd erupted in applause.

"That's Goku for you." said Yamcha.

"No surprise here." replied Krillen.

"What speed. I could not even see him until it was too late. And here I was thinking I was fast." thought Ranma as he wondered as to how Goku was able to accelerate his speed in such a way.

Ranma found Goku exiting the ring and she rushed towards him.

"Hey, Goku, congrants on your match." said Ranma.

"Thanks!" grinned Goku as he scratched the back of his head in modesty.

"What was that technique you just used right now, that super speed?" asked Ranma.

"Oh that. That's called _Zanzuken_ or instantaneous movement. You use your ki and force it down your legs. It is then that you are able to move at a supersonic speed at short distances. Pretty useful but it takes a toll on you if you use it too often." said Goku.

"Well, thanks for telling me. I'll be sure to keep that technique in mind." said Ranma excitingly, no doubt planning to add it to her already large arsenal of moves.

Meanwhile, the figure known as the Demon King just smirked.

"Oh how easily amused the crowd is with such elementary moves. I hope this is not your best Goku because if it is, then this world is doomed." thought the Demon King as he turned his back to the crowd, leaned his back against the wall and closed his eyes.

--

The matches passed by quickly as the Dragonball crew and Ranma plowed through their opponents like nothing. Ranma felt somewhat disappointed at the lack of competition there was here in the preliminaries but she always thought ahead towards the finals and knew that there was light at the end of the tunnel.

Then, there was a dramatic pause. The white child known as Chaoutzu was suddenly on the ground, unconscious. Goku and the others rushed over to see none other than Mercenary Tao as the culprit.

"Still weak as ever. Should have killed him but then, I can't risk getting disqualified." said Mercenary Tao as he kicked poor Chaoutzu out of the ring. Immediately, Tien caught the poor child.

"You monster! How could you!" roared Tien.

"Still as soft as ever, now aren't you Tienshinhan. Don't worry. You will get your fill soon!" said Mercenary Tao.

"Mercenary Tao! I can't believe it! You're still alive!" cried Goku out in disbelief.

"Why if it isn't Goku. Yes, I am still alive through these cybernetic enhancements. Death can be transcended if one possess enough technology and money."

Ranma watched the entire scene and felt the evil, overwhelming intent to kill coming from the man that called himself Mercenary Tao.

"He may not be as powerful as Goku but this man is very strong and very bloodthirsty. As much as I hate to say this, I would not like to fight someone like that, a man who only cares for taking as much lives as possible." thought Ranma as she continued to see the events before her unfold.

"I'll see you in the finals Tienshinhan, that is, if you don't lose first!" mocked Tao as he started to laugh manically as he exited the ring.

--

Chaoutzu was carried out in a stretcher and the matches resumed again. Ranma had a very easy time with all her matches, that is, until she had her last match of the preliminaries.

Goku, Tien, Krillen, Yamcha, Mercenary Tao, The Demon called Ma Jr. and a strange man named Shen have all made it to the finals. There was only one spot left and Ranma was determined to get to it.

As Ranma made her way to the ring, she was met with the woman that was mouthing off at Goku. Immediately, the woman began to mouth off at Ranma.

"I see you little hussy! I see you trying to get close to my Goku! I swear, you will pay!" cried the angry woman. Ranma could only sigh in disbelief.

"Gosh, she has the temper of Akane and the psychotic nature of Kodachi. Man, I'm tired of this, I gotta end this quickly."

"Begin!"

Immediately, the woman launched herself at Ranma and started to attack wildly. Ranma dodged them with some ease. The woman then aimed a fierce mid kick in which Ranma avoided by jumping over it. She then countered by placing both hands on the woman's leg and using it as a spring board, pushed herself up and attempted to land a double axe handle on the woman's head.

The woman placed her arms up and blocked the blow. She then pushed Ranma's arms off and elbowed Ranma on her exposed stomach. Ranma's breath went away a second before she landed hard on the ground. The woman then pulled Ranma up by the pigtail and lifted Ranma to face her. The woman spat on Ranma's face.

"That's what you get, you little hussy you!" roared the woman as she attempted to aim a fierce punch on Ranma's face. Ranma caught the punch with her left arm and with her right arm, aimed a hook and caught the woman on the cheek, knocking on the side. Ranma flipped backwards to put some distance between the two.

"Gosh, what a mean, uncut woman! I feel sorry for the man who would have to marry and put up with her! Still, this woman is strong. She is even stronger than Shampoo! I may have to get a little serious here if I want to win." thought Ranma as he saw the woman in front of her get up to her feet, ready for some more.

"Enough playing around. I am going to end this right now woman! Prepare!" bellowed Ranma as she then went full speed towards the woman. The woman attempted to block the punch aimed at her but Ranma passed her guard easily and decked the woman hard. The woman flew back and out of the ring. Ranma cringed as she noticed that she placed too much power on the punch and that the woman was now flying high speed towards the wall.

Everyone gasped as they saw the poor woman flying. They all closed their eyes, expecting to hear the loud thud that was going to happen. Yet, the thud never came. Ranma herself closed her eyes, not wanting to see the sight but when she did not hear the collision, she opened her eyes and was surprised to see that the woman did not hit the wall as Goku intercepted her at the last second.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Goku to the unknown woman.

"Y-Y-Yes Goku. I-I mean, I-I lost, r-r-right?" stuttered the women who was blushing fiercely.

"Yeah. I helped you out so you lost. Sorry." said Goku, still holding the women in his arms as everyone stared.

"I-I guess you r-really d-do care f-f-f-for me then, huh Goku. It is a sh-sh-shame that you d-don't remember m-me." said the woman as her eyes started to brim with tears.

In an act that was competely uncharateristic of Goku, he began to comfort the woman by removing the tears from her eyes, causing the woman to blush very deep.

"There, there. Somehow, I KNOW that I have met you before but I can't put my mind on it. Though, now that I think about it, you look kinda like a girl I met when I was a kid." said Goku. At hearing this, the woman's eyes suddenly shined.

"R-Really? D-Describe her."

"Well, she had long, black hair like yours, wore a wierd looking hat or something and was able to ride my nimbus with me."

"Tell me more."

"Well, gosh, she was kinda rough. I mean, I tried to check if she was a guy or a girl but she got mad and pushed me off Nimbus and later that day, she said something about getting "married" or something like that."

"Did you get her name?"

"I think she said it was...ummm...Chi Chi! There we go, Chi Chi!"

"Well Goku, FYI, I am Chi-Chi."

Everyone gasped as they heard this.

"Wait! So you are Ch-"

"Yes. I am that girl, Chi Chi, daughter of the Ox King. You promised to marry me."

"Well, yeah, but what is marriage?"

Everyone fell flat on their face as they heard this. Even Ranma, who had trained the majority of her life with her father in the wilderness, knew what marriage was, too well for her own liking.

"Goku! It is when a man and woman promise to live with each other for the rest of their lives!"

"Oh. I thought it was some kind of tasty food or something." Upon hearing this, Chi Chi's eyes began to water as she heard this.

"So I guess that promise was for nothing, huh. I guess I will be going then." said Chi Chi as she got off from Goku's arms and started to make her way out of the building. Imagine her surprise when she felt a hand tap her shoulder, turn her around and give her deepest (and first) kiss she ever had.

Chi Chi was stunned that Goku would be doing something so bold but not that she was disappointed. If anything, she wished that time would stop so that she could enjoy this forever but it was not meant to be. When they separated, she was blushing so fiercely that she felt that blood would seep out of her skin.

"Goku..."

"Don't ask why I did that. I don't know why I did but I felt that if I did not stop you then I would regret if for the rest of my life. Sure I may have not known what marriage is for I am a fighter, a martial artist but if I can use these fists to protect those who care about me, then why not? I have made up my mind. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

"W-Why y-yes, yes of course!" said Chi Chi as she embraced Goku and tried to squeeze him to death.

"Oww, not so hard." said Goku as everyone in the temple cheered. Still in the ring, Ranma could not help but envy Goku. He was able to pacify this head strong woman so well even though he had basically no clue how to act around women. She wished that she could do the same with Akane.

"Ladies and gentleman, this has never happened before! A marriage proposal after a match! Even though anonymous is unable to continue the match, I really don't think she cares much for that! But now, the winner and now finalist is Ranma!" Everyone cheered again as Ranma made her way down from the ring and towards the fiances.

"I'm so sorry. I should have watched my strength." said Ranma.

"Hey, no sweat! If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you for the way I acted. I'm sorry, its just I get so angry if anyone tries to get near my Goku!" said Chi Chi as she squeezed her newly acquired fiance tightly.

"It's okay Ranma. She's tough and she knew what she was getting into. I wish you luck in your matches in the finals." said Goku.

--

After all the participants who lost were cleared out of the building.

"I'll cheer you on in the sidelines!" said Chi Chi as she exited the temple and blowing a kiss towards Goku.

"T-Thanks." said Goku as he blushed.

"Eh, eh." said Krillen as he nudged Goku on ribs, causing Goku to blush even more.

"Gosh Goku, I really never thought you had it in you. You should give me some pointers or something cause you were so smooth." said Yamcha.

"Well, I-I guess, ummm..." stuttered Goku, at a lose to say anything.

"Okay, just put your hand in there and draw your number." said the man as each of the finalists drew their numbers. Ranma was shaking from excitement.

"Man, I wonder who I get to fight first?" she thought as she pulled her number out. As soon as all the finalists were done, the matches looked like this.

Match One: Goku vs. Mercenary Tao

Match Two: Shen vs. Krillen

Match Three: Ma Jr. vs. Yamcha

Match Four: Tienshinhan vs. Ranma

Ranma turned to face the tall bald man. He looked back towards her. Both gave a knowing nod. The shivers began again as Ranma began to contemplate her competition.

"He may not be Goku but from what I saw, this guy is also awesome. I have to be ready to fight at my fullest because this man does not look like the type to hold back." thought Ranma.

Soon all the finalists were beckoned to go to the arena outside. As they stepped out, the sun's rays hit their faces as they heard the sound of the crowd cheering and yelling in excitement. The finals for the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament was about to begin.

--

Author's Note: Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: All rights to the name "Ranma" belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi. Any events that are to be taken place in this story is fictional and in no way canon.

Author's Note: Sorry for the lack of updates. Well, here you go, hope you all enjoy!

--

All the finalist emerged from the temple as they made their way to the ring, anxious to get started with their matches. The announcer was currently in the ring, looking very animated and excited about the upcoming finals.

"Well, here you go ladies and gentleman! The fights that you all have been waiting for. Warriors from all over the world came over to participate and the ones left are the best of the best. I am sure that these skilled men and women will not disappoint you! Now, without further adieu, here is the first match! Participants, come forward!" cried the announcer at the top of his lungs.

Immediately, both Goku and Mercenary Tao stepped into the ring. Various cheers and boos came from the crowd.

"Go Goku, kick his butt!" cheered Bulma from the sidelines as she pounded mercilessly on the head of Oolong the Pig.

"Hey, ow, OW! Cut that out, it hurts!" protested Oolong as he tried to get away from the over eager Bulma.

"Well, EXCUSE ME! I guess I forgot what kinda wimp you are." retorted Bulma hotly. Oolong, not wanting to argue, ran over next to Master Roshi .

"So, old man, you think Goku has a chance?" asked Oolong.

"Mercenary Tao is much stronger than he was before. I am not sure if even I could beat him. Even so, I have faith that Goku will come out on top. Remember that he trained with Kami, the Guardian of this World." replied Master Roshi.

"I guess so." said Oolong before he shouted again at the top of his lungs. "Go get em Goku, show him what you're made of!"

--

On the sidelines, Ranma looked on with great anticipation. Ever since she met Goku, she knew that he possessed great strength and now she was eager to see him in action.

"Let's see what you are made of now, Goku. I hope you don't disappoint me because I WILL fight you. No way I'm losing to three eyes over there." thought Ranma as she eyed Tien, who was standing opposite of her, his focus competely on the match. It was then that Ranma felt a strong hand on her shoulder. Taken by surprise, Ranma quickly grabbed the hand and used her hips for leverage as she threw the figure down in front of her with a crash.

She saw that it was the long haired man, Yamcha. Ranma clasped her hands over her mouth as she started to apologize.

"I'm so sorry! It's just that I am not used to people catching me from behind." apologized Ranma at the figure below her. Yamcha, not seriously hurt, was still surprised at the reaction he had recieved.

"Man she's good. I never thought a cute girl like her could throw me like that. Bet she doesn't have any boyfriends. Wouldn't blame them though. I would hate to have a girlfriend who could kick my ass." thought Yamcha as he got up and dusted himself off. In the distance, he could Krillen completely cracking up as he was rolling on the ground, holding his stomach and trying to draw breath.

"B-Boy, did she get you good Yamcha! Can't believe that she threw you down like a rag doll! Hey Tien, you better watch out. If you're not careful, you might end up like poor Yamcha over there." exclaimed Krillen. Tien, on his part, turned to look at Yamcha, who was still dusting himself off, then at Krillen who was still cracking up and then to Ranma. He said nothing as he turned to pay his attention to the ring once more.

Ranma blushed furiously out of embarrassment of the entire ordeal before she started to apologize again.

"Really, I'm sorry to have-"

"Don't worry about it." interrupted Yamcha. "I have taken much worse blows. That was pretty impressive though. I can't wait to see you match up with Tien. I am sure that he will give you a good fight."

"I hope so to. Even so, I really want to fight Goku but that Mercenary fellow looks to be quite strong. Do ya think that Goku can win?" asked Ranma.

"I know for a fact that Goku will win. He has been training really hard for this day, as was myself and friends over there. Goku won't lose, I'm positive." replied Yamcha before he left Ranma to go and shut Krillen up. Ranma could not help but feel relieved.

"You better win Goku." she thought as she then paid her attention on the coming match.

--

In the ring, the announcer had Goku and Mercenary Tao stand in the middle of the ring as he explained the rules.

"The rules are simple. This will be a anything goes match. The match will only stop when a participant either gives up, is knocked unconscious, lands outside the ring or dies. Anyway, lets get started!"

Neither Goku nor Tao shook hands. The announcer stepped out of the ring as both Goku and Tao took their places across from each other in the ring. Immediately, Tao began to taunt Goku.

"You know you cannot beat me. I have come from the brink of death and spent every penny I owed to create this perfect body and kill you. Once I am through with you, then I will kill Tienshinhan and Chaouzu, the traitors. So why don't you just stand still. I promise to make it painless." threatned Tao as he took up a stance.

Goku on his part remained quiet and then smiled. Seeing such a nonchalant expression infuriated Tao.

"Are you mocking me! How dare you smile when death awaits you? Are you that eager to die?" roared Tao from across the ring. Goku, ready to end this, finally spoke.

"I am sorry Mercenary Tao. I did not mean to mock you but what you have said is not true. You have neither a perfect body nor the means to kill me. You stand no chance. I do not wish to harm you, evil as you are. Just give up, walk away and promise never to hurt people without cause again." said Goku as he narrowed his eyes but still taking no defensive stance.

"ME! Walk away!?! That's it! I have had enough Goku! I will kill you here and now. Prepare to die!" With that, Tao leapt towards Goku. Goku, feeling that he could no longer reason with this blood thirsty monster decided to end the match quickly before things got out of hand.

"Hiyaaa!" roared Goku as he extended his arm and launched a kia at Tao. The kia hit full force at Tao and the impact sent Tao flying back outside the ring and crashing into a nearby brick wall. The force of the impact broke the wall down as stunned spectators got out of the way to avoid the mess. Amisdt the rubble lay Tao, unconscious and outside the ring.

"We have a winner! Goku has defeated Tao and will now advance to the semi-finals!" With that the crowd cheered loudly. Goku just scratched the back of his head as he smiled. That is, until he heard the Crane Master call out to him.

"Goku! This is not the end. Both you and Tien will die by our hand. I will leave for now but remember, your days are numbered!" cried the Crane Master as he lifted the unconcious Tao from the rubble and used _Bukku-Jutsuu_ to fly away.

"Hmmph, good riddance!" said Roshi from the stands as Bulma was jumping up and down in joy and Oolong and Puar were dancing around in glee at Goku's easy victory.

Goku, having won the match, exited the ring to wait outside for his turn in the semi-finals.

--

Piccolo was somewhat stunned at the stunt pulled by Goku as he peered down at him from the top of the temple.

"That technique looks like one of my demon arts. Where did he learn to harness that power?" thought Piccolo. "No matter, with such basic skills, I will crush Goku like nothing."

With that, Piccolo continued his silent vigilance.

--

On the sidelines, both Krillen and Yamcha ran towards Goku as he exited the ring.

"Oh boy, you really showed him didn't you Goku?" exlaimed Krillen.

"Man, Tao did not stand a chance!" said Yamcha.

"Hey, it was nothing really." said Goku bashfully. Then, he saw Tien come towards him. Goku's expression got serious as he stepped away from Krillen and Yamcha. Both he and Tien stared at each other for a moment as the air around them got tense. Then, the mood lighten as Tien offered his hand with a smile. Goku took it and shook it vigorously.

"Congratulations on your match Goku and thank you for sparring Tao's life. I know that he is an evil man but I still have to be grateful to him for showing me how to master the Art and becoming a warrior. In some ways, I am glad that I did not fight him. I fear that I would have not had the gall to defeat and humiliate my former master, no matter what he has done to me. said Tien.

"Well it's no problem Tien. I knew that you still have some form of respect for your master, and it was for that reason that I ended the match quickly. Even so, you have nothing to fear if you had fought him. You would have come out victorious." said Goku reassuringly.

"Thank you Goku, I really appreciate it and you know what, I think you are right. I would do anything to have my rematch against you and if I had to humiliate and beat my own master in front of a crowd, I am pretty sure that I would have. Even so, I hope to have our fight real soon." said Tien

"I want to fight you too, but beware of your opponent. She seems to have a good amount of power and skill." advised Goku.

"I am aware of that but even so, I feel somewhat odd around this "Ranma" character." said Tien

"What do you mean?" asked Goku

"I just feel that she is hiding something...something that could greatly alter my match with her. I don't know, I just don't feel good around her."

"You scared that you'll lose to her?"

"Of course not. From what I have seen in her matches, I should be able to overtake her no problem, but still...." Tien stopped as he then saw the subject of their discussion make her appearance.

"That was really impressive. I am somewhat surprised to see that you dealt with a martial artist of his caliber so easily." said Ranma as she got to Goku and Tien.

"Well, it was nothing. I mean, that is why we are all here. To win. I just did what I had to do. I really am looking foward to watching your match with Tien. I am sure that you will give us a good fight." said Goku.

"You can count on that, right?" said Ranma. She eyed Tien as she said this. Tien smiled and gave an approving nod. Then, the announcer began to announce the second match.

"Ladies and Gentleman, now it is time for the second match. Participants! Krillen and Shen, please step forward and proceed to the ring at once!"

"Looks like its my turn! Wish me luck!" said Krillen as he entered the ring. Shen suddenly ran out of the temple at the announcement of his name.

"Oh my, oh my, oh my. Is it my turn already?" said Shen outloud as he sprinted towards the ring. Unfortunately for him, as he run up the steps to the ring, he tripped over his left foot and fell flat on his face. Krillen and the entire crowd began to roar in laughter.

"Hey Krillen, maybe I should wish that guy some luck 'cause he's gonna need it and more to even stand a chance against you." said Yamcha in between laughs, tears streaming down his eyes.

Ranma could not help but crack up as she saw this misfit stand up and try to laugh along with the crowd before tripping again, incurring even more laughter. As far as Ranma saw him, Shen was not a large man. He was rather short with his hair combed back. He sported a small moustache and wore large, thick glasses. He was not dressed in a gi but in a button up white shirt and black trousers. He did not look like a fighter. In fact, he looked like a regular, middle aged man who looked more like he was ready to clock in an office rather than fight.

"Boy, I don't how a loser like him managed to get this far but I am sure that his luck has run out. I want bald man over there to finish this quickly so we can move this along, I really want to fight already." thought Ranma as she fidgeted, already growing impatient.

In the ring, Shen managed to get himself up the second time around and this time, did not trip. The laughter soon died down and the announcer began to speak.

"Okay you two, I know that both of you already know the rules. Begin!"

"Here I come!" shouted Krillen as he dashed towards Shen, ready to finish the match quickly.

"Ahhh! Too fast, too fast!" shouted Shen as he ducked under Krillen's punch and proceeded to run to the other side of the ring and duck down with his hands over his head, shaking in apparent fright.

"Oh, c'mon, fight already!" said Krillen as he aimed a hook at the cowering Shen. Shen placed his hands in front of him as he was apparently scared witless and the match already seemed over. "This match is mine!" thought Krillen as his hook solidly connected. Krillen, pleased with himself, looked down to see if his opponent was knocked out. He was in for a huge surprise when he saw Shen take the punch fully and not flinch.

"What the?" shouted Krillen outloud as he saw Shen standing there with now a very serious expression on his face as he grabbed Krillen's fist and threw it down. The rest of the crowd was also in apparent shock as well as they saw this turn of events.

"Not a bad punch. That's gonna leave a bruise you know but really, there was no need to hold back." said Shen.

"Whaddya mean "hold back?" I put everything I had into that punch." said Krillen.

"No you didn't. You held back because you feared that I was going to get hurt. If you really want to win this tournament, you have to put everything you have because if you don't, then your opponents will overtake you. So, I am going to tell you again. Fight me at full strength. Pretend that I am Goku over there and fight me to your heart's content because you will lose if you don't. Then again, I can't gurantee that you'll win even if you fought seriously." said Shen at a stunned Krillen.

"Fine then! You want some of this, you got it!" roared Krillen as he suddenly dissappeared from sight as the entire crowd gasped in awe. Shen, not surprised at the very least, stood straight up with his hands behind his back.

"There you have it folks! Krillen has just disappeared from plain sight! What does Shen have to do to get out of this predicament?" said the announcer to the crowd.

Yamcha, Tien, Goku and Ranma were all in the sidelines, watching the match intensly.

"So this is that _zanzuken_ move Goku used on King except now, Krillen is using it for a longer duration of time. Here I thought I was fast, he's moving at some kind of super speed or something, I can't even see Krillen's movements. I wonder what Shen is going to do now to counter this." thought Ranma.

She then turned to see Goku, Tien and Yamcha standing like statues. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that their eyes were going all over the place, she would have thought they died or something. Even so, she had the feeling that they could see Krillen where she could not. She thought about asking them as to how they were seeing him but her pride prevented her from doing so.

"There's no way Saotome will ask for help. If they can see him, so can I!" thought Ranma as she began to concentrate. She saw the prone, lone form of Shen and then searched around the ring. She continued to stare until she something flicker.

"What was that? Was that him?" thought Ranma as she continued her concentration, bent on finding Krillen.

Another blur of red came into Ranma's view, then another, then another. Soon, Ranma could almost follow where Krillen was going though she found the effort in following such high speeds rather strenuous.

"I think I have got the hang of this now." thought Ranma as she was following the red blur all over the ring, wondering what it would do.

Then, the red blur suddenly disappeared as it got close to Shen and suddenly reappeared right behind him with Krillen now in plain sight with a deadly kick ready to sail. Shen, on his part, caught the kick easily as he grabbed Krillen's leg. He drew Krillen in like a fish on a hook and gave him a strong punch to the face. Krillen was sent flying back as he landed on the ring with a thud.

"Ouch, that smarts." said Krillen as he got up, rubbing his right cheek.

"Are you done? I say, you are pretty quick on your feet but I saw you the whole time. Such a basic trick won't fool me." said Shen as he walked towards Krillen, again with no defensive stance.

"He's good." said Goku in the sidelines.

"Yeah. Who would have thought that such an ordinary looking man could be giving Krillen such a hard time." said Tien.

"That joker was just lucky. Just wait, Krillen will show him up." said Yamcha with conviction.

Ranma stayed quiet. Quite frankly, she was beyond surprised. It took her intense concentration just to FOLLOW Krillen's movement but this Shen fellow not only saw Krillen's movements but already assesed where Krillen was going and what he was going to do and countered effectively. All while just standing there with his hands behind his back. If Shen was concentrating, he sure did not show it.

So Krillen once again started to attack but this time charged foward, not bothering to use any stealth tatics. Shen suddenly assumed a stance and blocked a fierce blow from Krillen as both started to throw flurries of punches and kicks towards each other. The crowd could only stare in amazement at the fight unleashed before them.

In the scuffle, Shen attempted a low shin kick but Krillen checked it and immediately attempted a straight jab. Shen did not expect this and got sucker punched in the face. Shen could feel his nose beginning to ache but thankfully, no bleeding. Shen attempted to then aim another low kick. Krillen attempted to check the low kick but Shen only used the low kick as a feint and proceeded to use a fierce hook at Krillen. Krillen took the blow very hard as he was knocked down to the floor of the ring.

Shen attempted to capatilize by trying to kick Krillen in the ribs while he was still down. Krillen, to his credit, caught the first kick with his hands and threw Shen's foot up, knocking him off balance. Krillen then took this opportunity as he got up in a flash and flew in with a strong knee in to the gut. Shen, who was still trying to regain his balance, took the blow fully. Shen went down to one knee as he felt his wind leave him as he gasped to get some air.

Krillen, not wanting to draw this fight any longer, took the time to use _zanzuken_ once more so that he could get behind Shen and knock him out with a strong blow to the back of the head. The match looked like it was over but before Krillen could make contact with his attack, Shen suddenly used _zanzuken_ on his own and dodged it. Krillen, sensing that Shen might try something, put his arms up front to guard.

At once, Shen reappeared but Krillen was ready blocked the kick aimed for his temple. Both Krillen and Shen tried to overpower the other until each leapt back across the ring from each other. Krillen was panting and out of breath. Shen just stood there as if nothing had happened.

"You are not too shabby, much stronger than I gave you credit for. Even so, you are no match for me. Withdraw from this match." said Shen as his glasses gleamed in the light.

"No chance, there is no way I'm gonna give up now! I have trained far too long to stop! I won't lose!" roared Krillen as he jumped straight into the air and started to gather all his ki.

On the sidelines, the rest of the crew was in absolute shock. How could such a ordinary looking man be giving a martial artist of Krillen's caliber such a hard time?

"Something is not right. By the way that man looks, his body should not be capable of performing the feats we have just witnessed." said Tien.

"All luck. That guy knows a few tricks, big deal. I don't know why Krillen hasn't finished this. If it was me, I would've creamed that joker a long time ago!" declared Yamcha.

"Looks like Krillen is about to get serious then. He is about to unleash the _Kamehameha_." said Goku stoically.

"The what?" thought Ranma as she overheard the others talking.

Back in the ring, Krillen, still in the air, charged up more ki as he was about to launch the signature _Kamehameha_.

"Folks, you are about to witness one of the most deadly techniques in the entire martial arts world. Krillen is about to unleash the world famous _Kamehameha! _ Brace yourselves folks, such a technique is not used frequently." yelled the announcer with great enthusiasm.

"Get ready, I am going to use my strongest attack! _Kamehameha!_" roared Krillen as he launched the largest beam he could muster. From his hands, a large, blue beam emerged and headed on a path of destruction towards Shen. Shen on his part kept his hands behind his back as he stared the beam down. Then, at the last minute, he sidestepped the beam and launched himself into the air.

Meanwhile, the beam struck the ring with great force, blowing the bottom part up, forming a large crater. Dust flew into the air as the crowd began a chrous of coughing due to the dust.

"Did I get him?" thought Krillen as he breathed in deep, filling his lungs with much needed air as the dust dissipated. Then, instantly, Shen appeared right behind Krillen. Before Krillen could react, Shen hit Krillen hard with a double axe handle and sent him pummeling towards the earth. Krillen did all he could to stop his fall, using what little _Bukuu Jutsuu_ he learned from Tien to levitate himself but it was no use. His body was utterly exhausted and he fell outside the ring with a crash.

The crowd was in stunned silence as they all started to chatter in hushed whispers, no doubt believing that Krillen died from his fall. The announcer was going crazy as he witnessed the events.

"Dear Kami! I never would have thought that something like this would happen to one of our contestants. Even though Shen is the winner, if Krillen is dead, then Shen will be automatically disqualified from the match."

Indeed, it looked as if Krillen wasn't getting up as Shen descended back down to earth and landed back into the ring. He stared hard at the prone form of Krillen, looking for a little sign of movement.

Then, a leg twitched. The crowd all gasped as they saw this small movement. Soon, Krillen could be seen struggling on to his feet, his hands and knees on the ground. Immediately paramedics came over to assist him. They placed him into a stretcher as they carried him out. Even so, Krillen managed to give a thumbs up, inciting cheers from the crowd.

"There you have it folks! What toughness and strength to be able to withstand such a fall! I know that if it was me, I would have been long dead. So now, I congragulate our new winner, Shen!" shouted the announcer as the crowd cheered. Shen took a small bow before exiting the ring and making his way inside the temple.

On the sidelines, as Krillen was being carried, he was immediately followed by Goku and the others.

"Hey, you did great man." said Yamcha.

"Yeah, you have improved so much since the last time I saw you. Awesome fight!" said Goku enthusiatcially.

"Good job. Even though you lost, you fought to the best of your abilities. Today, Shen was the better man. Next time, I know you'll be." said Tien.

"Thanks guys." said Krillen as he was then carried away to get his injuries checked.

Ranma stayed to herself near the ring but her thoughts were flying at a thousand miles an hour.

"What a match. I can't believe half of the stuff they managed to pull off, from super speed to hovering in mid-air. That _Kamehameha_ technique looked impressive. I can't believe that Krillen was able to harness his ki without having to experience extreme emotions like me an' Ryoga. Still they may have their ki and flashy techniques but they still don't know what it is like to fight against one trained in the art of Anything Goes!"

Immediately the announcer spoke again to start the next match.

"I cannot believe how great these matches have turned out and we still haven't reached the semi-finals yet! Something tells me that we still have alot more action coming up. Now, for the next match. Please step foward, Ma Jr. and Yamcha!"

"Well, I'm up. Wish the green freak luck 'cause I'm going to pound him until he turns black and blue!" boasted Yamcha as he stepped into the ring. Tien and Goku laughed nervously, knowing full well who Yamcha's opponent was and what he was capable of. Ma Jr. on his part said nothing as he levitated from the top of the temple right down into the ring. Both he and Yamcha stared each other down with serious expressions.

"Okay you two, I am sure that both of you know the rules already. Just keep in mind that he have a crater over at the left end of the ring so please practice caution. Now begin!" said the announcer as he stepped out of the ring, eager to see what this match had in store.

"You're going down!" roared Yamcha as he jumped straight towards Ma Jr. (Piccolo) and aimed a heavy flying kick. Piccolo just snorted in annoyance as he caught the leg rather easily.

"Pathetic. A human such as yourself cannot hope to touch one such as I." said Piccolo.

"Oh, I'll do more than just "touch" you. I'll beat you down so hard that you wished that you never messed with me!" said Yamcha as yanked his leg away from Piccolo and started a flurry of punches. Piccolo bobbed and weaved through the punches as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Yamcha then aimed a gut punch but Piccolo caught it.

"Such elementary techniques. Do you honestly believe that you can beat me?" said Piccolo as he started to grasp tightly on Yamcha's fist.

"Just wait, I'm just getting warmed up!" replied Yamcha. Both stared each other down for a second before Yamcha, with all his might, yanked his fist out of Piccolo's grip and backflipped away, putting distance between him and Piccolo. Once he felt sure that Piccolo was far enough, Yamcha then held his arm out with his hand pointing upwards.

Yamcha's veins suddenly popped all around his arm and head as he started to concentrate and build ki, his hand spewing out small sparks. Piccolo, being intrigued, decided to let Yamcha gather the energy needed for this technique. After about five seconds, Yamcha yelled loudly and out of his raised hand came a sphere of ki.

"You see this green man? This is my strongest technique and I am going to use it to break every single bone in your body. Here it comes! SPIRIT BALL!" At once, Yamcha launched the ki sphere at Piccolo.

"Fool, such a pathetic technique won't touch me." said Piccolo as he cocked his head to one side, avoiding the attack. Piccolo expected to see Yamcha tremble in despair at having his best technique miss but was utterly surprised to see him smiling.

"GOTCHA!" roared Yamcha as he started to make erratic movements with his hands. At once, Piccolo felt the ki ball's presence and ducked as it flew over him. Piccolo then took to the skies as he tried to out fly the ball. Unfortunately, the ball was gaining and Piccolo figured that he only had about ten seconds at most before the ball hit him. Not that he was scared of dying or anything but if Goku was as strong as he thought he was, then Piccolo knew that he would need to be at full strength and any mistakes would cost him.

"Way to go Yamcha! Keep that green freak on the run!" cheered Bulma from the stands, estatic that her boyfriend had the match in hand.

"Goku, do you think that maybe Yamcha may win this one?" asked Tien apprehensively.

"No Tien. As much as I hate to say this, this foe is beyond him." replied Goku as he resumed watching the match.

As Piccolo felt the ball near him, a thought suddenly struck him.

"If that ball follows me where ever I go, I wonder if I can...." Piccolo then suddenly flew straight towards Yamcha. Yamcha gasped in surprise as he saw Piccolo fly towards him at full speed and then dodge him at the last second. The entire crowd gasped as Yamcha was struck by his own _Spirit Ball_, effectively knocking him out.

"I'm okay." rambled Yamcha in his unconscious state.

"There you have it! Yamcha has been defeated! Ma. Jr advances!" cried the announcer as paramedics came into the ring and carried Yamcha out. Piccolo just walked out of the ring and then flew back up to his perch.

"Now as you know folks, this is the last match before we advance to the semi-finals! Please come foward participants!"

"Well, I believe it is time for me to start then." said Tien.

"Do your best." said Goku as he placed a hand on Tien's shoulder.

"You know it." replied Tien as he then began to walk towards the ring. Ranma patted her pocket and felt the Dimensional TV still in there.

"I better put this away. There." thought Ranma as she found a neat little spot behind the bushes and hid it there. After doing this, she finally ran next to Tien.

"It's about freaking time! So how 'bout it three eyes, ready to lose?" asked Ranma arrogantly as the red head stood next to the much taller Tien.

"It is not wise to underestimate your opponent." replied Tien

"I ain't underestimating you though. I KNOW that I can beat you." said Ranma. Tien had no answer to this as both fighters made their way towards the ring. There, the announcer spoke.

"I know that both of you know the rules already. I hope you give us a good, clean fight. Begin!" The announcer made a hasty exit as the gong rang and the match between Tienshinhan and Ranma commenced.

"Here I come!" said Ranma as she launched a series of jabs at Tien. Tien bobbed and weaved with little effort as the red head in front of him displayed an amazing amount of speed.

"Not bad. She is pretty fast. Still, if this is her best then she stands no chance." said Tien as he then caught one fist. Ranma's eyes widened a bit in surprise but she retaliated with a swift hook with her free arm. Again, Tien caught that arm with no trouble.

"Wow, he's pretty good. But I wonder if he can handle this!" thought Ranma as she then launched a vicious knee to the gut of Tien. Tien did not expect this and received the blow. His eyes bulged a bit from the strain and he lost his breath.

"Now!" thought Ranma as shen then launched one of her most trademarked techniques.

"_Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken_!" roared Ranma as she launched punches faster than the eye can see at Tien, who had not yet recovered from the last attack. Ranma smirked as she felt punch after punch connect solidly as she drove Tien towards the edge of the ring.

At ringside, Goku watched the match with great interest. He was greatly surprised that this girl was able to not only fight on even footing but even overtake Tien and turn a small error into a monster. Yet, Goku knew that Tien had way more under his sleeve and that this momentary advantage would not last long. Goku judged that Tien would take this match, despite the poor opening, but a small part of him wanted Ranma to win.

Back in the ring, Ranma knew that she was about to win. She was disappointed, she really did expect more from Tien, especially after watching both Yamcha and Krillen fight.

She launched her final punch with a loud "Hiya!" and gave a good strong hook that connected smartly on Tien's cheek. The force of the blow sent Tien out of the ring.

"It's over." thought Ranma as she turned around, ready to celebrate her victory. Yet, the gasp of the crowd got her to turn around and as she did, she felt the rough sole of a boot land smartly on her face, sending her skidding back on the ring. To Ranma's utter shock and surprise, there stood Tien, his body a bit bruised from the assault but otherwise, okay.

"There's no way! I landed that many hits and that's all he took? What is this guy made of, even Ryoga can't withstand that many hits and stand back up." thought Ranma. Seeing Tien stand there, she flipped back up to her feet and took her stance again.

"How did you get back on the ring? I was sure that I knocked you outside." questioned Ranma. She really could not help but think that she was being cheated here.

"You knocked me outside the ring but I did not LAND outside of it. It is a secret of the Crane School of Martial Arts. We utilize a technique called _Bukuu-Jutsu_ or "The Art of Sky Dancing." It literally means that by using my ki, I can fly though at my current training, I can only fly in short distances before tiring. Even so, it is extremely useful, as you just saw." said Tien.

"Hey! Then thats no fair then! Hey announcer dude, that's cheating! If I can't fly, then why can he?" yelled Ranma.

"It is competely fair! As long as he is doing it on his own, then it is legal!" shouted the announcer back.

"Great, just great. I can't even knock this guy outside the ring. Well, I guess I'll just have to pummel him then." thought Ranma. "Yo, three eyes. I guess I can't knock you outside the ring. Its okay. I guess I'll just have to punch you out then."

"Try me. You won't get a second chance like that again." said Tien as he took up his stance. Ranma instantly made her way towards Tien.

"_Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!"_ roared Ranma as she launched a series of punches too fast for the eye could see. Not that it was any problem for Tien. He blocked the first blow by smacking Ranma's left arm down harshly. Ranma winced in pain a bit and tried to resume the technique but Tien already had a counter attack ready as swept Ranma from below. Ranma did not see this and soon, she felt her world go upside down as she was swept from underneath. Soon, she felt her body smack the cold ring floor.

"Crap! How did he do that? No one has been able to counter my _Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken_ so quickly. This guy's good but he knows nothing about the art of Anything Goes! I think its time for _Crouch of the WildTiger!_"

As Tien was about to strike Ranma again, Ranma suddenly got up on her knees and started to beg.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry, please don't hit me again, please I'm so sorry!" said Ranma repeatedly as she was bowing up and down. Tien was perplexed to say the least. He normally did not like to hit women and even though he did not plan to lose, he also did not want to harm the girl in front of him. So Tien walked foward towards the begging Ranma.

"Hey are you okay. I mean, I'm not going to give you the match or anything but if I hit you too hard, then I'm sorry." said Tien as he knealt down besides the begging Ranma.

"Sucker." thought Ranma as she then extended two fingers out and poked Tien in the eyes, who stood up and roared in pain. "Now's my chance! "_Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!"_ Again, Tien was about to be struck again with this dreaded technique but Ranma was surprised when she felt a strong backhand slap her across the face. Ranma flew back and nearly hit the brick wall at the west side of the ring but Ranma managed to recover and get on her feet.

"Ouch, that's gonna leave a mark. But how did he?" Ranma stared at Tien, who was still rubbing his eyes when Ranma noticed the third eye on the triclop's forehead. "Crap, forgot about that one."

Tien managed to recover but he was not happy with his performance. Twice he had let his guard down but he could not help it, he just could not bring himself to hit a girl. If only she was a guy he would have finished this long ago. Still, Tien eyed Goku, who was at ringside and he knew that the one thing he wanted to do was fight with him. He could not lose here.

"Girl. You said your name was Ranma, wasn't it?" asked Tien.

"Yeah, what of it?" replied Ranma.

"I really had wanted to end this match without having to injure you seriously but now, you really give me no choice. I will fight you seriously, girl or not. I hope you are prepared Ranma." said Tien. Then under his breath he uttered a "May Kami help me."

Immediately, Tien vanished from sight, leaving the crowd breathless.

"Well folks, where could Tien have gone? It seems that he has dissapeared!" said the announcer.

"Where are you three eyes? I know I can see you, I just have to concentrate." thought Ranma as she tried to focus her concentration and locate Tien.

"There!" said Ranma as she launched a fist at something that looked like Tien. Indeed, she did hit Tien, but only his after image which was at the moment, sticking his tongue out at her. "Grrr! The nerve! I'll get him!"

Ranma stood once more, sweat coming down her face as she tried to locate Tien. She heard the footsteps coming at her at high speed and out of instinct, Ranma jumped up. It was a mistake. Ranma felt something strike her hard on the back as she fell straight to the ring. She landed on her feet but she then felt blows striking her from all over her body. Ranma tried to fend them off but she just could not see where Tien was. He was just too quick for her.

Ranma then felt all her air leave her body as she felt a strong fist strike her gut. Ranma nearly blacked out from the blow as she fell to the floor of the ring. She then saw Tien standing above her. Something was dribbling over her mouth, she could not tell whether it was blood or saliva.

"I am sorry that this had to happen. I will end the match now." said Tien as he prepared the finishing blow. Ranma, to her credit, recovered instantly due to the prospect of losing and dodged the fist that was meant to knock her unconcious. Ranma took her space at the far end of the ring.

"I guess you ain't too bad three eyes. Since you are fighting me serious, I guess I wll fight you serious too. Hey announcer!"

"What is it ma'm."

Ranma winced when he heard "ma'm" being used to address her.

"Get me some warm water."

"What for?"

"Just do it!"

"Okay!" said the announcer as he left quickly to search for some warm water.

"What are you trying to pull?" asked Tien.

"You'll see three eyes. It will make this match alot more interesting." said Ranma.

"I see, then I won't strike you until the warm water has come." said Tien as he sat down and closed his eyes. He still had his third eye open, just in case Ranma would try something tricky again.

The crowd groaned due to the entertaining match being stalled for some warm water. Still, they did not groan for long. The announcer came back quickly with a bucket of steaming water.

"I don't know why you want this but here you go." said the announcer as he handed the steaming bucket at Ranma.

"Thanks." said Ranma and soon, she doused herself in the warm liquid. Ranma could feel herself growing taller and her muscles bulging. Soon, Ranma found himself in the body that he was most familiar with. The body of a man.

The crowd all gasped in total shock and amazement. Tien was snapped awake from his mediation at the sight of this. The announcer went nuts.

"Ladies and gentleman, I cannot believe what I am seeing! Never have I witnessed this before but it seems that our female competitor, Ranma is now a man! How much crazier can this match get?"

Tien stood up and smiled as he saw the much more formidable Ranma standing in front of him.

"Okay three eyes, round two."

--

Author's Note: Well, how was it? Sorry for not updating but still, am I giving Ranma enough airtime here or no? Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: All rights to "Ranma" belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi. All rights to "Dragonball" belong solely to Akira Toriyama

Author's Notes: Enjoy!

--

The crowd was absolutely flabbergasted at the sudden revelation of Ranma's curse as he turned into a man right before their very eyes. There were many "oh's" and "ah's" but mostly stunned silence. Bulma herself was at a loss for words before her surprise became outright rage.

"That PERVERT! I can't believe I acutally slept in the same room with another man!" yelled Bulma from the sideline.

"Stop making such a fuss, it's no big deal." snorted Oolong unwisely he was suddenly hit 'round the head with Bulma's fist.

"Shut up you...you...pig! Typical for someone like you to defend a pervert." scowled Bulma.

"Well you didn't have to hit me for it!" yelled Oolong as he rubbed the back of his sore head. As he did so, he turned to see Master Roshi on the floor, clearly having been so shocked at this turn of events.

"Excuse me, are you that girl that Goku used to hang around all the time?" asked a voice from behind. Both Oolong and Bulma forgot their argument to turn to see who had addressed them. They saw that it was the woman who Goku saved earlier in the preliminaries, Chi-Chi. Bulma, forgetting her anger for the moment, smiled and beckoned the ebony haired woman to join them.

"Why yes, I don't think we had properly introduced each other. My name is Bulma, the pig over there is Oolong, Puar isn't here right now since she went to check on Krillen and Yamcha and the old man lying on the ground there is the perverted Master Roshi." said Bulma. Indeed, Master Roshi was on the ground, apparently shell-shocked at the revelation.

"I felt up a man, I felt up a man, I felt up a man...." repeated Roshi in his semi-comatose state.

"Serves him right." said both Oolong and Bulma simultaneously. Chi-Chi giggled a bit at Master Roshi's antics before speaking again.

"I was just out looking to get a good spot near the ring and I heard this ruckus. Do you know what is going on?" asked Chi-Chi.

"Well, you're not gonna believe this but that girl you fought earlier is actually a guy." said Oolong bluntly. This got him another smack on the head.

"A liitle subtlety would be nice." said Bulma.

"Why did you hit me for again? I answered her question!" roared Oolong.

"Sheesh Oolong, no wonder you have no luck with women. Women hate the blunt type." said Bulma as a matter of fact.

"Yeah, well don't you know that men hate women who are blunt also." replied Oolong hotly.

"What are you trying to imply, Oolong?" shouted Bulma.

"What I am saying is that you are a-"

"So, that is why everyone is so fussed up about. Well, thank makes me feel better." said Chi-Chi ever so happily. Both Oolong and Bulma stopped their argument once more as they saw the dreamy face of Chi-Chi which could have lit up a cave.

"Even though Goku promised to marry me, that red-headed girl just looked so good, I was almost jealous." said Chi-Chi.

"Yeah...right." said Bulma in hesitant agreement, knowing that Chi-Chi was VERY jealous of Ranma during their match.

"But now that he is a guy, I don't have to worry about Goku having a mistress! He will be mine and mine alone." said Chi-Chi with stars in her eyes. Both Oolong and Bulma joined Roshi on the ground as they both face faulted.

--

At the top of the temple, Piccolo was deep in meditation. He scowled in annoyance when he heard the crowd all of sudden gasp and broke his mental training.

"What are those pathetic humans doing now?" thought Piccolo in annoyance as he opened his eyes and scanned the ring below him. What he saw shocked him slightly. In the ring, there was the three eyed human and a another young man. Piccolo did not remember Tien fighting a man. In fact, he was fighting what looked to be a woman, but right there below him, Tien was facing a man. A man that looked like what the woman would be if she were a man.

"So the boy can change his gender. Interesting, but nothing to fuss about." thought Piccolo as he resumed his concentration.

--

The obvious disturbance from the crowd did not phase either Ranma nor Tien. Both were ready to fight for reals this time, no holds barred.

"I hope you are ready this time three eyes 'cause I ain't gonna go easy on ya this time!" said the now male Ranma as he took his battle stance. Tien responded by removing the white shirt he had on, exposing his large, muscled chest.

"To be honest, I couldn't have asked for any better. Now that you are a man, I can fight you with my full potential." said Tien as he got into his battle stance as well.

"Here I go then!" said Ranma as he sprinted toward Tien, fists flying. Tien began weaving and dodging the blows and as he did so, he began to study his opponent.

"Hmm, it looks like he is a step slower this time but I feel more power coming from his attacks." thought Tien as he ducked under a high kick made by Ranma. Tien took advantage by using a sweep. Ranma was caught off guard and ate the sweep but recovered with cat like reflexes and spun his body around and landed on his feet and resumed his barrage.

"Impressive. It seems that Ranma is a man after all. He fights much more smoothly and naturally in this form as opposed to his female form, which was choppy. I may have to get a little serio-" Tien couldn't finish his thoughts as a fist landed squarely on his cheek, knocking him down. Tien cursed himself by being to focused on his thoughts rather than the fight as he flipped straight up, kicking Ranma away as he did so to prevent him from taking the initiative.

Then, Tien used _Zanzuken_ to phase out of visibility, leaving Ranma apparently alone in the ring.

"Ladies and gentleman, Tien has just disappeared from the ring! If I did not know any better, I would have thought I was watching a magic show rather than a martial arts fight! What will Ranma do?" exclaimed the announcer with full enthusiasm.

"Crap, this again? I really gonna need to focus." thought Ranma as he stood in the middle of the ring. Then, he felt blow to the face, then another to the chest, then several on his back in less than second. Ranma shouted in pain and tried to retaliate but only ended up hitting air. Ranma was getting frustrated that he couldn't detect Tien's movements. Then, Ranma felt another incoming blow. His sixth sense was screaming that this was a finishing move and Ranma instinctively jumped. Right below him was Tien but before Ranma could capitalize from above, Tien phased away once more, leaving Ranma to hit only air.

"Dammit! What am I going to do? If I just stand here, he is just going to take shots at me until he manages to knock me out. I have to out and face him head-on, but how can I do that if I can't even see him?" thought Ranma furiously. He was not happy at all. Ranma then began to rush around the ring, trying desperately to meet Tien head on. This only resulted in him being struck more times, frustrating him even more.

After a minute of doing this, Ranma was full of minor bruises. He was seething, he could not believe that he was getting outclassed this easily.

"I have to do something, but what?" thought Ranma. As if in answer, Ranma felt Tien's presence and decided to go for all or nothing and focused his entire guard to the upper portion of his body by raising both arms above his head. If this didn't work, Ranma's lower body, most importantly his stomach, would be totally exposed but Ranma had to do this. At once, he felt a great weight smash his forearms as his knees nearly buckled from the blow. Ranma managed to block an airal strike from Tien but before Ranma could take advantage, Tien phased away once more.

Then, it seemed as if a light bulb flashed over Ranma.

"I see. I may not be able to see him, but I can sense his approach when he is near me. If only I could block ONE more attack, I can nail him. But I will have to be calm. I can't lose my cool." thought Ranma as he began to exhale slowly, closing his eyes. The world seemed to go in slow motion as Ranma engulfed himself in the "Soul of Ice", to prevent him from losing his cool from frustration.

"Now, if I can just bait him one more time." thought Ranma. Ranma decided to just close his eyes and remain motionless. He put his arms down in an effort to look helpless. Ranma then focused all his concentration to his other senses and at once, he could hear footsteps. The pitter-patting of the footsteps went at a fast pace and Ranma knew that Tien was moving about the ring at super speed. Then, he heard silence. At once, Ranma knew that Tien had taken to the air. Ranma was tempted to put up a guard by this point, but he decided to wait a bit longer.

The footsteps resumed and were now rushing in from behind Ranma and were moving at an even quicker frequency.

"Wait for it."

The footsteps got louder.

"Wait for it."

The footsteps were now very loud. Ranma began to lose his cool, even with the "Soul of Ice" but he gritted his teeth and forced himself to remain motionless.

"Wait for it."

The footsteps were, at this point, like cannons going off around him as Ranma knew that Tien was circling around him in an attempt to confuse him. Then, he heard the pattern shift and the footsteps now began to sound even louder. At the point in which he felt like his eardrums would explode, Ranma knew it was time.

"NOW!" thought Ranma furiously as he threw a punch at what looked like empty air. Ranma smirked as he felt his fist collide solidly with flesh and bone and as Ranma opened his eyes, he saw the shocked face of Tien. Ranma was happy to see his fist embedded deep in Tien's cheek. At once, Ranma decided to take the initiative as he then used a technique that he only had to use once.

"_Umisenken"_ said Ranma as he used his own equivalent of _Zanzuken_ and flashed straight through the still shocked Tien. Once behind him, Ranma then proceeded to strike Tien hundreds upon hundreds of times. By the time Tien could get his bearings and retailiate, he had suffered from over three hundred blows in the span of two seconds. Tien yelled in pain as he collapsed to his knees, breathing hard, knowing that Ranma had really gotten him good that time. To make matters even worse for Tien, he could no longer sense Ranma's presence anywhere.

Tien's eyes furrowed in frustration as attempted to locate Ranma by sight but he could not see him at all. He then tried to locate his ki signature but found that this was impossible as well. For all Tien knew, Ranma might as well have disappeared completely.

_Zanzuken_ used blazing, supersonic speed to disorientate and confuse the opponent. The drawback to this technique, as Ranma had figured out, was that it was still bound to the limitations of the senses. A person skilled enough in the senses could still detect a person using _Zanzuken_ though it was a completely different animal when it came to intercepting the practioner.

_Umisenken _had an advantage over _Zanzuken _in the fact that the owner hid his/her presence ENTIRELY. They could not get detected by any of the senses other than sight. Not by sound, smell, touch, or taste. Used by someone who was fast enough to keep from sight, the technique was really good in sneaking up on opponents. There was just one drawback to the technique. It required the user to be completely emotionless, thus the reason Ranma was using the "Soul of Ice."

Thus, Ranma moved around like a wraith, keeping out of sight by using his speed and would close in on Tien and strike a few times then pull away. He was basically doing to Tien what Tien was doing to him.

Tien was not taking this very well as he could not detect Ranma at all now and was now taking too many hits. Tien's training prevented him from taking too much damage but the fact that some kid that came out of nowhere was doing this to him was really unnerving.

--

In the sideline, Goku was really impressed at how the fight was going. He really thought as soon as Tien started to use _Zanzuken_ on Ranma that the match would be over. Goku was pleasantly surprised to see Ranma not only intercept and stop Tien, but counter with his very own technique, something Goku had never seen before.

What surprised Goku the most was the fact that he could not sense Ranma's presence at all.

"What an awesome technique, I really need to pick it up. Whoever taught him that technique must be quite the martial arts master." thought Goku. Somewhere in Ranma's dimension, Soun Tendo got the sudden urge to face fault as he played shogi against Genma Saotome, in panda form. He refrained from doing so, knowing that it would ruin their game.

--

Tien took blow after blow as he tried in vain to defend himself. Thankfully, his warrior instincts were enough to prevent any of his vitals from being struck and knocking him out, but he could not rely on his instincts for much longer. Then, he suddenly remembered.

"I can fly. I can't believe that I forgot that I knew how to fly. How stupid of me." thought Tien as he then began to concentrate. Soon, Tien felt his body go light as he levitated into the air and rose about one hundred feet. He knew that even Ranma could not hope to jump high enough to hit him.

"Now to think of a counter strategy." thought Tien as he began to think of ways in countering Ranma's _Umisenken_. He had to think quickly. He was still not as proficient at _Buku-Jutsu_ as his master was and he could not maintain the flight for very long before he would tire out.

"What to do, what to do?" thought Tien as he gazed down at the ring, thinking of some way to detect Ranma and counter attack. Then, he spotted a flash of red in the ring.

"What was that?" thought Tien as he peered harder down at the ring. Then, he noticed Ranma appear out of nowhere then, as quickly as he appeared, he disappeared from sight.

"Why is he doing that? Is he mocking me?" Tien, wanting to take a closer look, formed a triangle with his two hands and used his third eye to magnify the ring below him in the hopes of catching Ranma. Again, Ranma appeared out of nowhere and remained visible for a full second. That was enough time for Tien to see a look of frustration from Ranma before Ranma disappeared once more.

"I think I get it now. It is a long shot, but it is worth a try." thought Tien as he slowly descended back down to Earth to the ring, hoping that his plan would work.

--

Ranma was getting frustrated. He knew that he had to maintain the _Umisenken, _but even with the "Soul of Ice" he was beginning to get frustrated, thus snapping him out of the technique every so often.

"I forgot that three eyes could fly. This is a problem. I can't be showing revealing myself too much, otherwise, three eyes would get the hint on how to stop my technique. Still, I bet flying takes a tremendous amount of ki to perform and maintain and as the old saying goes, what goes up must come down. I'll wait all day if I have to." thought Ranma as he did his best to prevent himself from experiencing any emotions.

--

The crowd was not very receptive of how the match was going. What was at first an exhilarating match was now a snore fest, with one guy out of sight and the other high in sky.

"Hey announcer, tell those fighters to do something already. Sheesh, my baby daughter's nursery rhymes are more entertaining than this!" said a disgruntled fan as he threw a can at the poor announcer.

"Yeah, make 'em do something already. I don't got all day!" yelled a random woman in the back as she threw her water bottle towards the ring. Soon, the entire crowd began to grow restless as they started to litter the edge of the ring with junk. The announcer did his best to quell the crowd.

"I am terribly sorry for this ladies and gentlemen, but please let these fighters fight their battles the way want. We, as officials, cannot interfere whatsoever." said the announcer. This was met with a chorus of boos as more junk began to pile up outside the ring.

--

Puar, accompanied by Yamcha and Krillen, soon joined the others in the crowd as during the brief intermission in the fight.

"Hey, guess who I brought?" asked Puar.

Bulma turned to see both Yamcha and Krillen, a little bruised up but otherwise, okay.

"What happened to him?" asked Krillen as he stood next to the still motionless figure of Master Roshi.

"You'll see in a little bit." said Bulma. Krillen just shrugged his shoulders.

"If you say so." said Krillen. He was then joined by Yamcha, who stood next to him and Bulma.

"So, how's the fight going?" asked Yamcha.

"It is dead even. Neither fighter has backed down." replied Oolong as he was munching away at some popcorn.

"Don't tell me that Tien hasn't beaten that girl yet." said Yamcha, a bit displeased at hearing that Tien was struggling with his match.

"For your information meat head, Tien is fighting a man now, not a girl." said Bulma smartly. For a moment, both Krillen and Yamcha looked at each other before bursting out in laughter.

"Oh man Bulma, you're hilarious, really. I mean, c'mon, your a freaking genius. How can mistake someone as hot as that gi-" Yamcha suddenly shut his mouth as he realized the error of his words. He shuddered when he heard Bulma trying to surpress a tantrum.

"You think that she is hot, right? WELL GUESS AGAIN! She isn't a girl. It turns out that she was really a guy the whole time. Something about warm water triggers something in him that turns him into a guy if he is a girl." said Bulma.

"Really Bulma, do you really believe that bull? What I saw in front of me was a girl, plain and simple." said Yamcha. Krillen nodded in agreement.

"Then look at the ring then and see for yourself." said Bulma angrily before turning her back to Yamcha and proceeded to ignore him.

Both Yamcha and Krillen stared at the ring and saw nothing there. They could not feel the girl's ki whatsoever.

"Where's Tien?" asked Krillen.

"He's up there." replied Yamcha as he pointed up at the sky.

"Geesh, I wonder what he is doing up there?" asked Krillen.

"Don't know."

Then, both Yamcha and Krillen felt a surge of ki flooding their senses and immediately turned towards the ring. There they saw what looked like a young man of about seventeen to eighteen years of age, adorned in the same red chinese vest and black pants the girl they saw earlier wear. Then, it finally struck them as both Yamcha's and Krillen's faces started to turn blue.

"Hey, Krillen, could it be that the girl we were drooling over is really a guy PRETENDING to be a girl, you know, those trans-o-cepticles or something like that." said Yamcha in horror.

"You mean _transsexual_ Yamcha. Sheesh, you might be right, but how did she change to a guy so quickly?"

"Hey man, with today's technology, anything is possible. What a screwy world we live in, can't even tell who is a real girl or guy anymore." said Yamcha in disgust.

"I'm with you there Yamcha." said Krillen as they resumed watching the match.

--

Piccolo was forced to watch the match since he could not meditate due to the crowd's bickering. He cursed them at first but now, he was glad that he was watching it. He was mildly amused by it, and his interest peaked after seeing Ranma go into _Umisenken._ At first, Piccolo thought it was some variant of _Zanzuken_ but suddenly realized how wrong he was when he could not sense Ranma's presence at all.

It was then that the Demon King began to watch the match with great interest. He saw Tien take flight and he knew that the triclops was having trouble dealing with the technique. Piccolo scoffed at how easily deceived humans could be but he admitted deep down (and I mean, very deep down) that he didn't have a clue as to how he could counter such a technique without blowing up the entire ring. Even in real life combat, such a technique in where an opponent could totally mask their presence and strike out of nowhere was lethal. Certainly, there had to be a drawback.

Piccolo continued to watch the match, now determined to see the drawback present itself.

--

Tien had to be sure that this was going to work. He could not afford to take anymore damage but he was still cursing himself inside. He really wanted to save this technique for Goku but he really had no choice now. If he did not use it, then he would be forced to use both his _Dodonpa _and _Kihoko _techniques and that was something he wanted to avoid all together. Those attacks were reserved only for Goku.

So, he was left with only this technique. He tried to make himself feel better by saying that this was necessary and that better to use the technique now and spoil it for Goku and win rather than lose all together, knowing that he held back.

He had no choice.

--

Ranma was still in _Umisenken _as he watched Tien descend back down to Earth. At once, Ranma felt the urge to taunt Tien but held back. The _Umisenken_ was keeping him alive in this match and he'll be damned if he let three eyes beat him. He was Ranma Saotome for goodness sakes.

He saw Tien land on the ring and saw him immediately gather his ki. Not wanting to risk anything, Ranma charged at him, hoping to strike Tien before he the chance to unleash a powerful technique. At once, he struck Tien behind the head with as much force as he could muster as the triclops was still busy meditating.

"Got him!" thought Ranma gleefully. Ranma looked up at Tien to see if he was knocked out. He saw the body slump down and fall to the ground. The entire crowd went silent. At once, Ranma revealed himself as he atop the prone form of Tien and boasted.

"Well three eyes, you may be fast and big, didn't stand a chance!" taunted Ranma. Then, to Ranma's surprise and shock, the body twitched as it replied.

"Oh really?"

Ranma sensed danger and barely put up a guard before he felt stinging blows hitting him from all over.

It was then that Ranma realized he was fighting THREE Tiens. Not one. THREE. Ranma was just absolutely flabbergasted as he was blocking blows left and right before he felt his feet being swept from underneath him. He was totally helpless as he heard one of the Tien's shout "_Special Volleyball Attack!_" and soon, Ranma felt himself being bounced around helplessly all over the air by the three Tiens.

Ranma did try to regain his balance, but everytime he tried to recover mid-air, a Tien would fly up and spike him before he could do such a thing and everytime he tried to land on his feet, he would get swept from underneath by another Tien. As he was being bounced around, the fourth Tien finally recovered his senses as he came and observed the debacle.

After about a minute of doing this, Ranma was spiked hard for the last time before being restrained. Two of the Tiens had his arms and the third held his head back. The fourth Tien walked toward Ranma and stood before him. Ranma sneered at him.

"Hey, I thought this was supposed to be a one on one match, you cheater!" growled Ranma. This angered the fourth Tien and for his impudence, Ranma received a blow to the gut, which forced Ranma to lose his air. Ranma tried to get his wind back, but Tien number three was gripping his throat rather tightly and this made breathing hard.

"Cheating? It took me three, long hard years to master this technique. In any case, you brought this upon yourself. I was planning to save this technique for Goku but you forced me to use before I wanted to. Still, I am impressed. For someone as young as yourself and to have this much power and skill, you must be gifted indeed. I enjoyed our fight, but unfortunately, I will have to end it." said Tien.

"We ain't ended nothing yet!" growled Ranma.

"I'm sorry, but it is over already. You three, proceed to throw Ranma out of the ring." ordered Tien number four as the other three then lifted Ranma and proceeded to carry him to the edge of the ring.

--

Author's Note: Well, how was it? I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter though I am torn. Should Ranma win or Tien? I'll make up my mind soon. Until next time, good night!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer:All rights to the name "Dragonball" and "Ranma 1/2" belong solely to Akira Toriyama and Rumiko Takahashi respectively. I do not make any profit in writing this.

Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long but I was so torn between whether Tien or Ranma should win. I have gotten a couple of people stating that Ranma is too strong and now that I look back I see that I did overpower him a bit. Still, the story must go on. Enjoy!

--

Things looked hopeless for our aqua-transexual as he was was held in the arms of three Tiens as they promptly took him towards the edge of the ring. Ranma struggled and struggled but all in vain. There was no breaking the iron grip the three Tiens had on him.

"Crap I gotta do something fast otherwise I'm done for." thought Ranma but even he knew that things were looking bad for him. All his limbs were held tightly and the edge of the ring loomed ever closer.

"Ranma seems to be in quite a predicament right now! Will he be able to get out of this one?" roared the announcer on his microphone.

"You have been a good opponent but now it must end. I have a battle to fight and that is with Goku. Maybe we can fight some other time." said Tien number four as he stood watching the whole ordeal. Ranma closed his eyes not wanting to believe that this was it.

"No...I can't believe it! I am Ranma Saotome! I don't lose! I don't!" screamed Ranma mentally in denial of the fact that he indeed has lost this one. Yet life has a way of messing things up.

Just when the Tiens were about to throw Ranma over the edge the sprinklers all of a sudden went off. The water ended up splashing on Ranma and the three Tiens. Immediately Ranma reverted in a girl again while the Tiens, obviously startled and distracted at water splashing on their faces, took the initiative.

"Eeeep! How dare you touch me like that! You call yourself a gentleman, let go!" shrieked female Ranma as she felt one of the Tiens' hands roam over her breast.

"Gahh!" grunted Tien number one as he quickly withdrew one hand giving Ranma all she needed to get out of her predicament. Using her newly wet body, she slithered out of the other two Tiens' grip causing the two to slip over each other and fall into a heap. Tien number four wasn't about to let Ranma off easy as he dashed straight towards female Ranma with a chop.

"My God folks! Due to a technical mishap Tien has just lost his chance for victory as our now female Ranma has just slithered out his grips! What a great fight we are seeing her folks!" roared the announcer as the crowd cheered loudly. They were thourougly entertained.

Ranma quickly righted herself and used her arms to block the blow but soon found that Tien number four phased out of sight right before hitting her. It was then though that Ranma saw Tien number four coming from her right side. Ranma decided to counter attack by waiting until the last second before side-stepping the attack. Just when Tien number four was about to strike, Ranma nimbly avoided the blow and prepared to land a devastating chop to the back to the head.

Unfortunately for Ranma she forgot to take into account that there were three other Tiens' and she suddenly received a blow to the face that knocked her down. She saw that it was Tien number two that delievered the blow and to her left she saw Tien number's one and three coming full speed towards her intent in not letting her get up.

Ranma quickly hopped up to avoid getting hit only to have Tien number four come from behind and knock her back down into the ring. Ranma landed hard as some tile ended up getting broken. Ranma yelped in pain but she knew that she could not stay down for long and was soon back on her feet and was currently trying to put up a defense against four Tiens'.

--

On the sidelines Goku was watching with great interest. He never had seen this technique from Tien before and was glad that it was Ranma and not him going through it.

"It looks like Tien has improved greatly since our last fight but I am surprised that Ranma has come this far. Still, I wonder how Ranma will get out of this one?"

Goku continued to watch the match in great earnest and eager to fight the victor to this battle.

--

Piccolo watched with mild interest at the match taking place. He was intrigued with Ranma's _Umiseken_ technique but besides that he thought nothing of Ranma.

Quite frankly he did not care who won the match. He knew that he had enough power to destroy both the three eyed human and the boy...or girl. Bah, it was too confusing for him.

As long as he killed Goku and exacted his revenge then he was fine. For now all he could do was entertain himself by continuing to watch the match.

--

"Wow Krillen it looks like that..umm...person is pretty good to be taking on Tien like that." said and obviously surprised Yamcha.

"I know what you mean. Tien is the stronger than both you and me and this...girl is giving him so much problems." replied Krillen.

"I just don't see why Tien doesn't end it though? He could finish her off right now if he wanted to. I mean, if it were me that freak would have been lying unconscious long ago!" boasted Yamcha. Bulma overheard this however and chose to interject her own unwanted opinion on the matter.

"You two are just scared that a girl is able to fight the big boys." said Bulma.

"How do you even know it is a girl? Wasn't it just a guy a while ago?" countered Yamcha.

"Who cares? She is a girl now and that it all that matters!" yelled Bulma hotly.

"Whatever." said Yamcha.

"Fine!" yelled Bulma.

"Fine!" yelled Yamcha back.

"Sheesh I guess things don't ever change." murmured Krillen as he turned his attention back to the match.

--

Ranma was not having a good time. She was barely able to put up a defense as the four Tiens' continued their relentless assault. What she was scared of the most was getting hit from behind but so far she has managed to keep all the damage to non-vital areas of her body.

"Damn what am I going to do? Fighting four on one is definitely not fair here but what choice do I got? How can I possibly continue doing this?" thought Ranma as she narrowly avoided a hook from Tien number four only to get kneed in the gut by Tien number three and slammed from behind by Tien number two, throwing her back down into the ground.

Tien number one attempted to capitalize by trying to land the finishing blow to the back of the head. Ranma turned over quickly and blocked the blow with her arms only to get kicked hard in the ribs.

Ranma winced a bit as she heard a dull crack and she knew that one of her ribs was bruised at the very least. Still she could not give up as she managed to push Tien number one away from her with her arms and then kicked Tien number three in the shin, causing him to stagger back.

Tien number two came with a dropping elbow but Ranma rolled out of the way until she saw that she was rolling towards Tien number four. Ranma stopped her rolling and swiped at Tien number four's leg. He dodged it and proceeded a stomp which Ranma avoided before getting up to her feet and jumping to the other side of the ring so as to keep all the Tiens' in front of her.

She tried to get her breath but breathing was proving to be very difficult and painful. She wanted to desperatly caress her left rib cage where the damage was done but she knew she could not show weakness.

"Damn this girl body! Can't even take a couple of hits before it starts to fall apart on me. Those damn sprinklers are still on so turning back into a guy is out of the question. Still I have to think. I cannot last much longer than this. Splitting in four must have a weakness but what?" thought Ranma before turning to face the four warriors in front of her.

"Hey you jerks don't ya know it is not nice to hit a lady!" cried Ranma from across the ring. Tien number four stepped forward from the bunch.

"Quiet. Nothing will prevent me from fighting Goku. I have been training hard for three years and now the time has come to-"

"Yeah, yeah! Who cares? All I know is that you are too chicken to fight me one on one. What kind of honor has you fight an opponent four on one?" said Ranma.

"For your information it has taken me three years to perfect this technique. Whining won't do you any good. You have lost. There is nothing more that you can do. Accept your defeat." commanded Tien number four.

"Like hell I will. Face it, you are too scared to fight me one on one. You know that you will lose if you do. What will the crowd think seeing poor helpless me fighting four, big, tough men all at once? They will think you a coward. You know what I think...you are a coward!" shrieked Ranma from the other side of the ring.

"ENOUGH!" roared Tien number four as he and the other Tiens flew towards her. Ranma knew that she only had one shot at doing this and that she needed to keep her cool. One mistake and the match was lost.

At once Ranma used the _Soul of Ice_ to calm her down as she started to dodge, weave and block all the attacks from the four Tiens. Slowly but surely she started to go around in a circle which got tighter and tighter as she neared the vortex. She had to be careful. With four opponents it was simple for one of them to simply slip away and strike her from behind. She knew that all this hot ki coming from Tien would result in a _Hiryu Shoten Ha_ that would knock him out for sure. She just had to not get hit.

--

Goku continued to watch the match and was suddenly wondering why Ranma was not fighting back.

"What is she planning? I sense that her ki has now become overwhelmingly chilly. I'm getting goosebumps from just feeling it. But why? Hasn't she figured out Tien's weakness?" thought Goku.

Quite frankly he had already found the weakness from Tien's multi-form technique. Tien's power and abilities get split by the number of copies he makes of himself. As such, since there are four Tiens his power has been split four ways. Each Tien was only 1/4 as strong as the original.

Yet, from what Goku perceived, Ranma was unaware of this. Ranma had not even realized that she could barely follow Tien's movements before he split up and now she was able to dodge and guard every one of their hits. Of course Goku was not going reveal anything. He wanted to see what Ranma was up to.

--

Krillen and Yamcha watched in awe as Ranma gracefully dodged and guarded every single blow that came her way. Sure she wasn't counterattacking but the mere fact that she was able to guard against Tien so well said much about her abilities.

"Hey Yamcha maybe we underestimated this Ranma fellow. She seems to have been hanging with Tien so far though I can't see how she is able to guard against Tien when she could barely follow him before?" said Krillen.

"Remember what I said Krillen. Tien is holding back. There is no way that he is going to lose to some freakish upstart! I still don't see why he hasn't ended it. Why if it was me I woulda-"

"Finished it long ago, I know Yamcha I know. But the fact remains that she is still keeping up with Tien. That is an accomplishment in itself. Still, I wonder where...he...she or whatever she is learned to fight. I have never seen this style of fighting." said Krillen.

"It don't matter. Tien will show her up soon." said Yamcha as he resumed watching the match.

"As much as I want to agree with you something tells me that Tien may not get off so easy...." thought Krillen before he to began to watch the match again.

--

Piccolo was getting anxious. The two humans have been fighting for over half an hour and he was getting impatient. He had better things to do than to sit and watch two weaklings struggle for a meaningless victory. How he wanted to just blow the entire place up and be done with it but he knew better.

He didn't want to risk killing Goku before causing him considerable pain. Oh how he would just love to break every single bone in his body and have him squeal before killing him. Just the thought of causing Goku insufferable pain was enough to calm Piccolo down and get him to not blow the entire place up.

There was just no fun in that.

--

"Almost there. C'mon three eyes just keep it up a little longer cause I got a nasty surprise waiting for ya!" thought Ranma as she went into the inner circles of the vortex. It was getting harder and harder to dodge and guard against all of the Tiens' attacks but Ranma knew that this was the only chance she had.

"Something is fishy. I can't see why Ranma is not fighting back." thought Tien number four as he tried to place an axe kick on Ranma which she blocked with ease. "Her ki feels so...cold. No matter. I have to end this right now before I exhaust myself too much to fight Goku properly."

So Tien number four attacked Ranma with renewed vigor.

"Almost there, c'mon just a little closer." thought Ranma as she finished the final rotation. Ranma then felt an updraft beginning to rise from below her. The air was scorching hot one second then numbling cold the next before the temperature settled down to a nice lukewarm. Ranma knew that this was it, it was now or never.

"Okay three eyes it is time for you to lose! _HIRYU SHOTEN HA!_" roared Ranma as she lifted her arm up. The Tiens did not even know what hit them as a large vortex suddenly appeared from the sky and crashed down the ring. Gale force winds started to fly all over the place and the crowd began to panic.

"Oh my folks! If I had never seen it I would have never believed it! This young woman...man...whatever has just created a tornado out of nowhere and has now completely engulfed the center of the ring! What amazing talent and strength our contestants have!" yelled the announcer excitedly.

--

Goku's eyes widened in surprise and awe as he saw the tornado though he was having a rough time trying to stay in place as the wind was pushing him back.

"I can't believe that this young person has such an advanced technique. To completely use one's ki AND the other opposing person's ki and use it against them is clever. I would never have dreamed of doing something like that. I bet Tien was not expecting that. I wonder how he is going to get out of this one?"

--

Piccolo growled in annoyance as his turban flew away from his head. The gale force winds did not bother him as much as the panicking people down in the stands who were screaming in awe and fear, hurting his ears and giving him a minor headache.

"I swear that once I am done with Goku I am going to make it a priority to destroy all these people here. They have already annoyed me enough." thought Piccolo bitterly before trying to meditate again.

--

"Whoa! I what an attack! I never knew that this girl packed such an awesome attack!" yelled Krillen amidst the gale force winds as the tornado continued to surge.

"She was a guy not too long ago Krillen though I hope that Tien is alright in there!" yelled Yamcha back. Not far away Bulma was hanging on to the brick wall to prevent herself from flying away. Unfortunately for her the wind caused her skirt to go flaying wildly, giving Oolong a nice peak at her undies.

"Hehehe! I never thought you liked purple Bulma!" taunted Oolong as he too was hanging on for dear life.

"You pig!" roared Bulma as she lifted an arm to smack Oolong. Unfortunately for her, this caused her to lose grip as she started to fly away but soon caught ahold of Oolong's leg.

"Hey! Lemme go you're heavy and I can't hold on!" said Oolong.

"Did you just say I was heavy? How dare you!" shrieked Bulma and in her rage she smacked Oolong over the head. This, of course, caused Oolong to lose his grip and both started to fly away and land hard on the ground as they joined Master Roshi in unconsciousness.

--

After a good thirty seconds the tornado subsided. Ranma stood in the center of the ring with a huge crater surrounding her. Already the ring now had two craters to add.

Still, besides all the collateral damage, Ranma could not help but smile weakly as she felt her knees growing weak.

"What an awesome technique! I cannot see Tien anywhere! Where could he be?" shouted the announcer as the crowd began to calm down again.

His answer came in the form of Tiens' falling down into the ring. They all landed on top of each other and they soon all merged all together into one being again.

"Well, it looks like Tien is down. One...two...."

The crowd began cheering as Ranma smiled knowing that victory was hers.

"Three...four...five...."

Ranma began to dust herself as she watched the crowd and soon turned to Goku. She was so excited that she would finally be able to fight Goku.

"Six...seven...eight...."

Then, suddenly, Tien forward flipped up from his prone form and was soon back on his feet, panting and bruised all over now. Ranma turned and nearly shuttered.

"No way...there is no way that he could have got up from that so quickly...I used all of his and my ki against him...how?" thought Ranma as she saw Tien there, shaking in anger.

"I can't believe that this child...this upstart has managed to embarrass me so in front of Goku and the crowd! I just can't believe that she actually beat my multi-form. THAT'S IT! I have had it!" thought Tien furiously as he began to gather all his ki.

"You...you! I won't forgive you for doing this! Time to take the kiddie gloves off. I am tired of this. If I have to fight full power against you to fight Goku then so be it! Take this! _Dodonpa Ray!_" roared Tien as the inner mercenary in him took over in a fit of rage.

Ranma, who was still weak from performing such a powerful _Hiryu Shoten Ha_ could do nothing as the yellow beam went straight for her and pierced her right shoulder. She immediately cried out in pain as she clutched her right shoulder which had a gaping, bloody hole, and knealt on her knees.

It was the most pain she had ever felt. Try as she might, Ranma just could not stop the tears from streaming down her face. The crowd gasped as they saw this. Krillen and Yamcha were shocked. Even Goku, eyes wide open in shock, could not believe that Tien went this far. There was no reason for it.

"Now do you see the difference in our power?!?" roared Tien as he then ran forward and jumped in the air. Yamcha gasped as he knew exactly what was going to happen as Tien did the exact same thing to him three years earlier.

"TIEN NO!" shouted Yamcha from the stands.

Ranma could only look up at the three eyed warrior and could not help but shiver in fear. Here was a warrior who could have taken her out like nothing had he really wanted to and now she was helpless before him. Ranma braced herself for what was about to come.

Tien snapped a kick that landed on Ranma's face and struck her hard. Ranma's head landed on the ring with a loud thud and Ranma could see stars. She felt something warm from under her and saw that blood started to stain the ring.

Her blood. And she was covered in it. Her right shoulder was bleeding profusely and she knew that she was going to die if she didn't do anything.

From the sidelines the people were starting to boo as she heard several phrases of "Stop this fight!" and "Save that poor kid!" and "What a cruel man, someone stop him!"

"What a cruel attack to pull! This is just horrible! I can't believe that this is happening!" shouted the announcer.

"This is it. I will finish this. Here I come!" roared Tien as he jumped up and extended a knee that was heading straight towards Ranma's legs.

"I guess you win...three eys...." mumured Ranma as she closed her eyes...awaiting the end.

Just when Tien was about to finish poor Ranma off Goku intervened and landed a solid punch on Tien's cheek, sending him down. Ranma suddenly opened her eyes to see Tien on the ground and standing Goku above her.

"That's enough Tien! You have clearly gone too far! The match is over...end it!" said Goku.

Tien's eyes, which were full of fury and hate suddenly cleared and as he saw Ranma he started to shutter before collapsing on the ground.

"What have I done...?" mumbled Tien.

"Well, due to Goku interfering in the match for Ranma's sake the rules state that he and Ranma are now disqualified from the tournament." said the announcer.

"Then Goku is no longer...I am so sorry." said Tien.

"Tien advances." said the announcer. The crowd booed loudly.

"I am sorry but I forfeit." said Tien glumly.

"Excuse me?" asked the announcer.

"I forfeit. I have done an inexcusable deed. I let my emotions get the better of me and I am ashamed to call myself a warrior." Tien then turned to face Goku and the still conscious but seriously injured Ranma.

"Goku...I am unworthy in challenging you. My deeds are inexcusable and I know that I have much to learn. I will leave and train to better myself." Then Tien turned to Ranma.

"Ranma...I cannot say how sorry I am. I know what I did was horrible but I hope that you forgive me one day." said Tien. Ranma nodded her head weakly before she finally succumbed to unconsciousness.

"We need a paramedic now!" said the announcer as they rushed towards the ring to tend to Ranma's wound. Unfortunately for them, a ki blast came from nowhere and destroyed the ambulance and the paramedics waiting for Ranma.

"Hold it right there! If Goku is disqualified then I have no choice but to intervene right now! Goku...I will fight you here and now. Prepare for your death!" roared Piccolo as he flew down the ring and stared opposite of Goku.

"Tien go and take Ranma somewhere safe then go to Korin's tower and get some senzu beans. It is the only way we can save Ranma." said Goku.

"But Goku, even at my fastest it will take me an hour to come and go from there." said Tien.

"It's fine...I'm pretty sure I can hold Piccolo off until then." said Goku.

"Ok Goku...I have faith in you." said Tien as he lifted Ranma's body and headed towards the temple. Piccolo only grinned wickedly as he launched a ki blast straight at them.

"No!" yelled Goku.

Then, the mystery man, Shen, came at blazing speed and intercepted the ki blast at the last second. Both Yamcha and Krillen now joined him.

"Go, we will keep Piccolo at bay." said Shen as Tien, Krillen, Yamcha and Tien went into the temple. Ranma, though unconcious, was writhing in pain. Tien could not help but feel horrible about what he had done.

"It's okay. We will keep her safe and try to get her comfortable. You just go and do what you have to do." said Krillen. Tien nodded in appreciation.

"Thanks guys." said Tien as he then flew off to get the senzu beans needed to save Ranma's life.

--

Author's Note: Well, that's it. Hope you all enjoyed!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: All rights to the names "Ranma" and "Dragonball" belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively.

Author's Note: I understand I am taking forever but I ran into some writers block. Anyway, I am going to continue now. To clarify some things, I went ahead and re-read over the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament and I found the flaws in my story but oh well, the show must go on. All opinions regarding Ranma's power or skill compared to the Z fighters at this point are appreciated but I stick to where I stand. Anyway I hope I got that out of the way. Enjoy!

--

Power Levels

King Chapa: 34

Chi-Chi: 79

Master Roshi: 139

Cyber Tao:160

Chaouz: 141

Yamcha: 177

Yamcha (Spirit Ball): 220

Ranma (Girl): 145

Ranma (Guy): 185

Ranma (Hiryu Shoten Ha): 233

Krillen: 206

Krillen (Kamehameha): 225

Tien (holding back): 155

Tien (serious): 260

Tien 1: 65

Tien 2: 65

Tien 3: 65

Tien 4: 65

Shen: ????

Goku (weighted clothes): 260

Goku (w/o weighted clothes): 304

Goku (Kamehameha): 345

Piccolo (weighted clothes): 280

Piccolo (w/o weighed clothes): 302

Piccolo (Bakurikimaha): 340

Piccolo (Explosion): 550

--

The sky began to darken as thunder flashed across the arena. There, in the midst of the storm stood two of Earth's mightiest warriors. One was battling for supremacy of Earth and to enslave the world in darkness and chaos. The other fought to defend the Earth from such a fate.

Such was going to be the sight for the fate of the Earth, in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. Even so, this great event was not going to bear witness to much people. The resulting destruction caused by Piccolo rattled the crowd and soon, they were all running about, trying to get out of the arena.

This was of no concern to Piccolo or Goku as they began to fight, moving at speeds that were thought impossible for living creatures.

The announcer was still present, though, and he wanted to bear witness to this event, curiosity taking over his caution as he was eager to find out who would win.

"This is the battle of the century folks! I cannot believe my eyes, these are fighters of the utmost caliber! Even though both are disqualified I cannot help but not stop this fight!"

So roared the announcer though the only spectators he had now were Bulma, Master Roshi, Oolong, Paur, and the other contestants.

Lightning flashed once more as the fight between Goku and Piccolo continued.

--

Tien was racing as quick as he could, flying at his absolute fastest but it could not be denied.

He was exhausted from his last fight and he was beginning to have doubts as to even MAKING it to Korin's Tower much less come back in time to save Ranma.

Ranma, the reason why he was in this mess right now. Never did he believe that he would let his emotions over-take him again once more. He remembered glumly about a man he crippled and ruined his career as a fighter. He went to visit him personally to offer his apology but when he saw the man's wife and children, he could not help but feel even worse.

This man would never be able to support his family the way he used to nor would he ever be able to play with his children or take them where they need to go, or worse, never protect them when they were in danger.

All due to his thirst of inflicting pain.

Now that Ranma's life hung in the balance Tien knew he could not fail again.

He flew with renewed vigor, hoping that Ranma could just hold out a bit longer so that he could get those magical beans.

--

Inside the temple, Ranma was placed in the only medical room that was avaliable with the only paramedic that did not get blown up. With her was Shen as he helped the paramedic doctor her wound. The gaping hole was bleeding profusely and it needed to be patched up immediately. Unfortunately the only materials they had were some tape and gauze but it would just have to do.

Ranma was in a state of semi-consciousness as she writhing in pain and agony. The paramedic desperately wished he had some anesthetic to numb the pain but the facility he was forced to work in had precious little supplies.

So Shen was instructed to hold Ranma down as the paramedic applied the gauze to her wound to stop the bleeding.

And she screamed. Ranma was wide awake now and was shrieking in pain.

"STOP! Please stop! AHHHHHHH!"

Ranma started to struggle madly to prevent her would from getting treated in any way but Shen held her down and soon, the gauze and tape were applied to both ends of her wounds.

Ranma seemed to slunk back to unconsciousness from the extreme pain. Shen observed the wounds and saw, to his dismay, that the gauze was still getting bled through and he knew that she did not have much longer to live.

He hoped that Tien would come back soon.

--

Outside, Yamcha and Krillen joined Master Roshi, Paur, Oolong, Bulma and Chi-Chi as they and the very few other spectators left watched the battle for Earth continue.

"You think Goku is gonna win, right?" asked Oolong.

"His foe is powerful...the most powerful he has ever had to face. I don't know if Goku is able to defeat the Demon King." said Master Roshi solemnly.

"I wouldn't bet on it! Goku has beaten everyone that he has come across. I know he'll win!" said Bulma.

"I really hope you're right." said Master Roshi as they continued to observe the battle.

--

Goku and Piccolo were locked into battle as they fought with everything they had. Goku went in with a flying elbow going straight towards Piccolo. Piccolo side-stepped it easily and Goku got caught in his cape.

Piccolo took advantage of the situation and proceeded to elbow Goku in the back, knocking him straight down into the ring floor. The impact from the blow was enough for the ring floor to crack when Goku crashed into it.

Piccolo then flew up high into the air and started to gather a large amount of ki before unleashing a barrage of ki-blasts towards the grounded Goku. The few spectators gasped in fright at the lethal force Piccolo was using against Goku. After about ten seconds of showering ki blasts at Goku the dust cleared.

There was yet another crater on the ring floor. The crowd that remained looked anxiously, wondering if there was anything left of Goku.

Then, to their great surprise, out came Goku. His weighted clothes were shredded and he had a few bruises and dirt on his person but he was otherwise alright. Piccolo, who was still in the air, snorted, and came back down into the ring.

"I would have been disappointed if you had not come out of such a weak attack." said Piccolo as he stood in front of Goku.

"You call that weak? I'll tell you, those blasts really hit their mark. I'm gonna be sore tomorrow!" said Goku somewhat cheerfully.

"What makes you say that you are going to wake up tomorrow? You'll die here and now! Prepare yourself Goku for I am going to get serious now!" said Piccolo as he then grabbed his turban and threw it aside. It landed with a heavy "thud" outside the ring and indented the earth. Goku did the same as he tore off his shredded weighted clothing and boots and threw them outside the ring.

"I guess I'm not holding back either! Let's do this!" said Goku as he then flew towards Piccolo. Piccolo grinned evily before commencing his fight with Goku once more.

--

Tien was panting heavily. He was nowhere near Korin's tower, that much he knew but he was so tired. He knew that he would soon lose his energy and that he would no longer be able to fly. But he knew that he could not fail. If he did then he would have the blood of an innoncent person on his hands.

Ranma.

The kid was talented and Tien hated to think that such talent go wasted due to his anger and frustration.

As he was flying he saw something sparkle in the distance and wondered vaguely what it was. He flew towards it to see that it was a flying plane of some sort and it was heading towards him.

"I wonder why that thing is flying towards me?" thought Tien as he saw the plane get closer and closer to him. Soon, the plane slows down as it nears Tien and Tien stops as well. He is curious as to who is trying to contact him.

And out of the plane comes both Korin and Yajirobe.

"Master Korin! What are you doing here?" asked Tien as he did his best to bow in mid-air.

"Such a respectable man! You could learn a thing or two from him you fat lummox!" said Korin to Yajirobe. Yajirobe, on his part, just grunted in annoyance.

"To answer you question Tien, I was just on my way to the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. I sensed that the Demon King made his appearance already and I am curious as to how Goku is going to deal with him." said Korin.

"That is great Master Korin but I have to get to your tower. You see, one of the contestants was mortally wounded as in need of some your sensu beans Master." said Tien.

"Oh, well, that is no problem! I have brought some of my beans just in case things got hairy over at the tournament site. You look exhausted. Come in and take a sensu bean. We'll take you back." said Korin.

"We must hurry then. I don't know how long she'll last." said Tien.

"She?" asked Korin.

"Yes." replied Tien.

"Well, let us go then." said Korin as he invited Tien in the plane.

--

Shen looked anxiously at the panting Ranma below him. He could see that the gauze was not holding in the bleeding very well for the sheets were beginning to get stained.

Ranma was sweating profusely and was turning to and fro. Every so often she would clutch her wounded shoulder and cry out in pain, her tears running down her face and dripping down into the floor.

It was then that Shen knew that Ranma could die before Tien got back and that he needed to intervene. Shen closed his eyes and started to chant silently. For a moment nothing happened and there was no sound except Shen chanting. Then, all of a sudden, Shen roared out loudly and soon he fell limply to the ground.

Right above the prone body of Shen was a figure. He looked similar to the Demon King Piccolo except that he looked ancient. He had wrinkles covering his body and had a staff with him, apparently to help him move.

Even so, despite how he looked, his face had a kind demeanor with none of the cruelty laced about it like his other counter part.

For the person that now stood was Kami, Guardian of Earth and he was here to bear witness to the battle between Goku and his other half, Piccolo.

As of now, though, his responsibility was to make sure that Ranma stayed alive long enough until Tien came back. So, with a great amount of concentration, Kami held his hand out and started to gather a small bit of energy.

His hand glowed a soft blue and he then placed it on Ranma's forehead. Ranma felt the coolness emitting from it and her constant shivering and sweating soon began to fade as she fell into what looked like a deep sleep.

Kami knew he was no healer. His intention was only to rid Ranma of the pain she was suffering from so that she could rest and not aggravate her condition by constantly clutching her wound.

Kami looked down at the body he borrowed. Feeling obligated to him, Kami woke him up. The man was startled at first and when he saw Kami, he got frightened and ran off. At least he would be safe.

Now all he had to do was wait for Tien.

--

From the plane they were able to spot the arena as they neared it.

"I need to borrow this, Master Korin." said Tien as he grabbed the sack of sensu beans.

"Sure go ahead. I assume you will be leaving us." said Korin.

"Yes. As much as I hate to say this but now that I am rejuvenated I can get there quicker than you guys." said Tien.

"That's fine. I wish you the best of luck." said Korin.

"Thank you for your help! I am indebted to you. Goodbye!" said Tien as he opened the hatch and soon flew away.

"Hmph...show off!" said Yajirobe as he and Korin continued their way to the site of the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament.

--

Tien got to the site in nothing flat and was soon in the temple, running through the corridors in search of the medical ward. He soon found it and was startled at the sight.

"You! I thought you were dead! How can there be two Piccolo's?" said Tien as he trembled in rage and fear.

"Oh! I see that you made it in time then. I can understand your fear but I am not Piccolo. I am his other half. I am Kami, Guardian of this Earth. I am of no danger to you or the others." said Kami.

"How can I be so sure?" asked Tien as he eyed Kami suspiciously.

"If I were truly Piccolo this woman over here would have died long ago. Besides, it was I who trained Goku during the past three years." said Kami.

"Well...I do not sense any malice from you. Then-" at this point Tien knelt down "forgive me for doubting you. But if you please, I must give these sensu beans to Ranma over here."

"That is fine." said Kami.

Ranma was still in what looked like a deep sleep but Tien could tell she was not in very good condition. Her wound was still bleeding, with her blood dripping down into the floor. Her face looked very pale, with an almost blue tint.

Tien felt completely mortified at what he had done but he knew he did not have time to feel sorry for himself. He had to cure Ranma and now.

At once he got a bean out and adminstered it into Ranma's mouth.

"Here, please I need you to chew and eat this." said Tien.

Ranma unconsciously began to chew the bean, with little crunching sounds that could be heard. Both Kami and Tien watched anxiously, waiting to see what would happen.

Suddenly, they could see Ranma's wound beginning to mend on its own. The bleeding was also beginning to stop as Ranma's complexion began to get back to normal.

Ranma's eyes suddenly opened as she saw both Kami and Tien standing before her. She nearly yelped like a little girl at the sight of Kami but kept herself in check, not wanting to show more weakness than she already had. Besides, she figured that if Tien was here then that big green fellow wasn't all that dangerous then.

"I'm...cured. But how?" asked Ranma.

"I was able to cure you with these." said Tien as he showed Ranma the bag of sensu beans that he had just brought.

"And those are?" asked Ranma, more confused now.

"Sensu beans. When I trained with Korin there would be times in which we would get extremely exhausted or hurt from our sparring sessions. To make the most of our time, Korin would give us these beans so that we would not have to rest long periods of time in between. One bean can cure you of any injury no matter how grave and is also capable of nurturing your body for over ten days without additional food. These are extremely difficult to grow but are useful beyond comprehension." said Tien before continuing again.

"I regret to say that my actions were dishonorable and underhanded. I should not have used such lethal force against you when you were at such an exhausted state. I do not expect you to forgive me Ranma but I hope that my curing you would be some form of atonment for what I have done." said Tien sadly.

"Aww, don't beat yourself over it too much three eyes. Believe me, I have had my fair share of close shaves before though this was as close as it could get. I'm not saying that I liked what you did to me but it did open my eyes a bit. I ain't as strong as I believe I am. Though I love to say that Saotome never loses, you beat me fair and square. Still there is only one way for me to forgive you." said Ranma.

"What would that be?" asked Tien.

"A rematch. I can't stand someone who beats me and I usually do my best to find out what I did wrong so that I come back and repay the favor ten fold. So I will train and once I am finished I will come back and beat you three eyes!" said Ranma as she stood up, fist held up.

"Then it is settled. I gladly accept your rematch. Just let me know when you are ready and it shall happen." said Tien.

Then, there was what sounded like an explosion from the outside. The entire temple shook and Ranma nearly lost her balance and fell. It was then that Kami decided to interfere.

"We must hurry outside already. Goku and Piccolo have already engaged in combat. The fate of our entire world will be decided in this battle. Come, we must bear witness to it." said Kami as he started to make his way outside.

"Wait a dang second! I ain't gonna be stuck in this weak girl body any longer! Get me some hot water already so I can be a guy!" said Ranma.

"Just give me a second." said Tien as he went to a nearby faucet and turned the water on. As the two waited for the water to get hot, there was more shaking and trembling to be heard. Not wanting to wait any longer, Tien got a cup and filled it with luke warm water. He then gathered a bit of ki and shot it at the water.

The effect was immediate as it began to steam. At once, he threw it at Ranma.

Steam covered Ranma's body as she began to change forms. Once again, she felt her chest tighten and constrict, her legs grow longer and her arms expand. Soon, Ranma was back to his old self again.

"Man I feel much better! C'mon three eyes I want to see Goku in action. I bet he must be awesome when he is serious." said Ranma.

"Believe me, if Goku is fighting seriously then you won't be disappointed." said Tien as both he and Ranma ran out to watch the tournament come to its conclusion.

--

Author's Note: Not the best chapter I have ever written but I promise the next one will be much better. The power levels that I have posted are the best guesses I can make. You all can debate what Ranma's power level is compared to the others but I am sticking to my guns with this one. You agree with me, that's cool. If you don't agree with me, that's cool too. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: All rights to the names "Ranma" and "Dragonball" belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. I make no profit whatsoever in writing this story.

Author's Note: Almost done here. I want to thank all those who have read and reviewed, it has been a pleasure. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the next chapter!

--

**Power Levels**

King Chapa: 34

Chi-Chi: 79

Master Roshi: 139

Cyber Tao: 160

Chaouz: 141

Yamcha: 177

Yamcha (Spirit Ball): 220

Ranma (Girl): 145

Ranma (Guy): 185

Ranma (Hiryu Shoten Ha): 233

Krillen: 206

Krillen (Kamehameha): 225

Tien (holding back): 155

Tien (serious): 260

Tien 1: 65

Tien 2: 65

Tien 3: 65

Tien 4: 65

Kami: 275 (He referred to the other original half, the weaker half. Piccolo Daimou young maxed at 260 and got beat by Goku. Kami owned this same Goku thus the power level. He is weaker than the new, current Piccolo though.)

Goku (weighted clothes): 260

Goku (w/o weighted clothes): 304

Goku (Kamehameha): 345

Piccolo (weighted clothes): 280

Piccolo (w/o weighed clothes): 302

Piccolo (Bakurikimaha): 340

Piccolo (Explosion): 550

--

Both Ranma and Tien rushed out onto the tournament sight where they were greeted by Krillen and Yamcha. The majority of the crowd had already run away after finding out Piccolo's true identity.

The only people present were the ones who participated in the tournament, Master Roshi, Bulma, Oolong, Puar, Chi-Chi and the announcer.

At once, Krillen and Yamcha were relieved to find that Ranma was all right.

"Hey, you look much better. I guess Tien was able to get those Sensu beans, right?" asked Yamcha.

"Yeah. Got me cured pretty quick. I mean, it was a good thing 'cause I don't want to have to miss the fight of the century here!" said Ranma with glee.

"It is more than just that. Goku is fighting for the sake of the entire world." Called out a voice from behind them. At once, the fighters turned to find Kami at their midst. Yamcha and Krillen went into their defensive stances but Tien calmed them at once.

"Show him so reverence. This man is not Piccolo. He is Kami, Guardian of Earth. He has come down to witness the battle at hand." Informed Tien knowingly.

"Are you sure? He looks just like Piccolo." Said Krillen who was not too convinced.

Kami nodded his head as he smiled, with a bit of fang showing from his mouth. It really unnerved Krillen.

"You have nothing to fear from me. Tien is right. I am the current Guardian of Earth though I can understand your apprehension. You see, Piccolo and I are of the same mind, body and soul. When I wished to become Guardian, I was forced to purge all evil from my very being. That evil manifested itself into that Demon, Piccolo. Goku defeated him three years ago but alas, I knew it was not over for Piccolo had given birth to offspring before his death. As such, my life was preserved but now, we confront a foe in which the world has never known before." Informed Kami.

"I see. So if Goku kills Piccolo, then…"

"Yes, Yamcha, I will die. That is the sacrifice I am willing to take for the safety of this world." Said Kami.

"Then, who will replace you?" asked Ranma, who was quiet curious over the state of affairs.

"Why, I would hope that Goku would take my stead for he is a selfless young man who has nothing but good intentions for everyone. He would make a great guardian." Said Kami.

As soon as this was finished, there was a great crash and dust flew about the arena.

"Let us go join the others. We need to keep their safety in mind just in case things get out of hand." Said Kami.

"Then let us go." Replied Tien as the warriors all went to join the others.

--

Piccolo stepped out of the crater that he inadvertently created with not much damage on his person. He was grinning like there was no tomorrow as a small trickle of purple blood began to stream from his mouth.

"Not bad Goku. I did not think you would be able to make sweat, let alone bleed." Said Piccolo haughtily as he cracked his neck, getting himself back in shape.

"Yeah, I have been practicing that move for a long time already. I'm glad that it worked!" said Goku with a goofy smile on his face, which only served to piss Piccolo off.

"Well, that was a lucky shot! You won't be having any more of those." Said Piccolo as he vanished from sight.

"Then I have no choice but to prove you wrong." Replied Goku, who suddenly got serious and vanished along with Piccolo.

At once they started to fight once more though they could hardly be seen. They would collide at one point, in which there would be a resounding boom as contact was made and their figures would appear for a split second before they would vanish once more and continue fighting at supersonic speeds.

As they fought, Goku began to feel the first pangs of fatigue. Using _zanzuken_ for such an extended amount of time was very taxing on the body and Goku knew that he could not sustain it much longer. He did not know whether Piccolo was beginning to tire as well or not but he was not about to continue this battle of attrition.

When they attempted to collide once more, Goku made a very risky move. He knew that if he missed timed this move, it would leave him wide open for anything Piccolo could throw at him. But he had to do it.

So, instead of meeting Piccolo's attack head on and clashing once more, Goku merely stopped and dropped his guard, hoping that it would throw Piccolo off.

Piccolo, not expecting this, hesitated for just a split second; a second so minute that it would not be noticeable to the normal eye.

But at the speeds they were fighting at, it was enough for Goku to capitalize. He immediately knocked ducked Piccolo's hesitant punch and made a strong gut punch to Piccolo's gut.

Piccolo felt all the air in his body suddenly leave him. His diaphragm felt as if it would explode out of his body, so powerful the punch. His fanged mouth opened as a small bit of purple blood escaped from it.

Goku punched once more, knocking what little wind was left out of Piccolo's body before using a double axe handle to slam Piccolo in the back and knock him back down the arena.

As Piccolo was going earth bound, Goku began to pull his arms back and cup his hands.

"Kame-"

Piccolo recovered just in time to avoid crash landing on the arena floor once more. He cursed himself for being hesitant, knowing that if only he had followed through regardless of whether Goku dropped his guard or not he would have had an open shot.

"Hame-"

Piccolo suddenly sensed a massive amount of ki being gathered towards Goku. Piccolo knew that Goku was planning to finish this. He began to charge his own ki.

"HA!"

Goku unleashed a strong, blue beam that went on a path of destruction towards Piccolo. Piccolo's body began to glow yellow as he waited for the blue beam to close in.

"Bakurikimaha! (Destructive Wave)" roared Piccolo as he launched two palms into the air, separated at shoulder's width, then pulling them together with one hand supporting the other, and unleashed a huge yellow beam to counter the blue beam.

There was an impressive light show as both beams collided with each other, causing a great deal of turbulence.

"Oh my gosh folks! Never have I seen such a sight, what a battle! This is certainly the best fight I have ever witnessed even though it is not official! I wish I had a video camera on me so that I could record this!" roared the announcer at a nearly non-existent crowd.

Goku was struggling. He knew that he and Piccolo were near strength but he launched his beam to late. He gave Piccolo too much time to gather his ki and counter-attack.

To make things worse, Piccolo was on the ground, giving him a firm foundation. Goku, on the other hand, had to use part of his ki to stay airborne AND still put out enough to hold his attack. As such, Piccolo had the terrain advantage.

Which would lead to Goku's downfall.

Piccolo, being on firm ground, was able to afford to place more ki on his beam and was able to over take Goku's. The yellow beam swallowed the blue one up and Goku barely had enough time to put his arms to defend before getting hit full force by the beam.

Goku felt the searing heat slam his arms and at once he saw the world go dark.

--

The crowd watched in awe as they saw the battle play out before them.

"C'mon Goku, beat that green freak up! You know he can't win!" cheered Bulma while she was, again, slamming her small fists on the baldhead of Oolong.

"Hey, hey, HEY! Stop that already!" cried out Oolong as he attempted to get away from Bulma.

"Oh Goku, please be careful." Said a very concerned Chi-Chi.

Ranma, on his part, was just dumbfounded. Never in his wildest dreams did he believe that perfecting the Art would lead to such feats of super human speed, strength, endurance and technique. He thought Tien and Krillen were fast when using _zanzuken_ since he could barely follow them.

But Goku and Piccolo put new meaning into the word fast.

Ranma had always prided himself for being quick, agile and a great fighter, especially in mid-air combat. Yet he was sorely out-classed by Piccolo and Goku, it was not even funny.

For once in his lifetime, Ranma felt subdued and humbled. Sure, he had beaten Saffron, but he had a lot of help and a bunch of lucky breaks. It also helped that Saffron, who could withstand elemental and ki attacks very well, could not take a simple punch to save his life.

He knew that if he were to face off against Piccolo or Goku when they were serious they would demolish him. He would get beat down, torn up and knocked out before he would even have a chance to throw a punch.

But out of this feeling of inferiority came a giddy excitement. Ranma knew that he had not reached his limits and that there was still so much more that the Art could show him.

It was then that Ranma had an internal battle against himself. Even though he wanted to go home, he would not leave until he learned these fighters' secrets. He wanted to train with them, undergo the vigorous routines they had to endure to attain their power and become stronger.

_Three eyes._

Yes, of course. How utterly he was outclassed by Tien, who was not going all out when he could have. Ranma did not like losing and when he did, he always liked to come back and beat his opponent so that he could redeem himself.

It did not matter whether he would stay a year or for a decade. He would stay and train until he would beat Tien so that he could go back home with peace of mind.

He could not wait.

"Hey man, you alright there?" asked a concerned Krillen to Ranma.

"Huh, oh yeah! Just thinking is all." Replied Ranma.

"Oh, well don't think too much! We got us a good match here to watch!" said Krillen as Ranma nodded in agreement.

It was then that Ranma saw Goku overtake Piccolo and knocked him down to back to the arena. He saw Piccolo regain his composure quickly and landed without harming himself.

Then Ranma felt the largest amount of ki he had ever felt. He looked up to see it was Goku, preparing for an immense attack. Goku launched it and Ranma recognized it as the _Kamehameha_; the same technique that Krillen used against Shen.

Except this beam, though not much bigger, was so concentrated that it hurt just being in the vicinity.

"That beam puts Ryoga's to shame." Thought Ranma as he watched the blue beam go down in a path of destruction.

That was when Piccolo retaliated with a beam of his own.

"How do they do that, releasing such a large amount of ki without having to experience emotion?" thought Ranma, which served to excite him even more.

But then, the whole crowd gasped in dismay as Piccolo's beam overtook Goku's. Goku was going down back into the arena and it did not look like he would recover.

--

Goku felt himself slip out of consciousness before opening his eyes to see the arena floor smack him right in the face. Goku found himself being buried within several feet of rubble and dirt.

"Gosh that smarts." Thought Goku, rubbing his jaw as he made his way out.

As Goku leapt up from the crater, he was immediately intercepted by Piccolo, who had delivered a fierce punch to his jaw once more. Goku felt himself go back onto the arena floor. Piccolo flipped up and extended both his knees outward.

Goku snapped his eyes open at once and guessed Piccolo's intention before rolling to the side to avoid getting his legs broken in his prone form.

Piccolo did not stop as he dashed forward once more and started to stomp mercilessly at Goku.

Goku did his best to not get stomped as he kept rolling back and forth. With a quick summoning of ki, Goku launched a small beam towards Piccolo's face.

The blast completely took Piccolo by surprise as he received the dragonball version of getting your face hit by a pie only this was ki blast.

Piccolo roared out in pain and Goku took the imitative and righted himself to a better position and started his counter attack.

Unfortunately, this would be Goku's biggest mistake as Piccolo immediately recovered and used eye beams on Goku.

Goku could not defend in time and the eye beams went straight through the left side of his chest, narrowly avoiding his heart.

Goku slumped down in pain as two scorch marks were imbedded in his upper left chest. It was beginning to bleed profusely.

--

The whole crowd was caught in shock. They could only watch in horror as Goku slumped down into the ground, with two gaping wounds on his upper left chest.

Ranma suddenly felt a pain on his chest when he witnessed this and fell down to his knees as well. It felt like Tien had pierced him with that attack of his all over again.

He understood exactly what Goku was going through.

"NO! GOKU NO!" shrieked Chi-Chi, was getting held back by Bulma, Oolong and Master Roshi from doing anything stupid.

"But how? This was not supposed to happen! Goku would never lose!" said an angry Yamcha, his fist clenched as he hit the ground over and over.

"The battle is not over. Let us continue to watch this fight to its conclusion." Said Kami.

So all watched the battle, knowing with a sudden realization that they were powerless to help.

--

Piccolo laughed cruelly as he watched Goku writhe in the ground, holding his wound in pain.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Does that hurt? Here, let me make it better." Said Piccolo as he rushed in and proceeded to stomp on Goku's open wounds, causing Goku to scream in pain.

"I have always wanted to do this Goku. You don't know how much pleasure I am getting in hearing you scream. So scream for me again Goku. SCREAM!" roared Piccolo as he stomped over and over and over again.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Goku as his chest was being repeatedly stomped on.

Piccolo did this for about a minute before moving back, as if to take a breather.

Yet, before Goku could enjoy his respite, he felt a strange sensation hit both his knees and heard a dull crunch. It did not really hurt but he felt heavy pressure. Once the pressure was lifted, Goku felt as if his knees were engulfed in some sort of liquid or something, as they were moving too and fro in odd directions.

That was when the pain made itself know, pure, unimaginable pain. Goku screamed once again, so loud, that it hurt the ears of the crowd.

Which hurt Piccolo's as well, but he was basking in the delight of Goku screaming to really care at the moment.

"I can't believe what is happening! What brutality! What cruelty! Will anyone save this young man from this monster?" asked the announcer loudly.

It was at this point that Piccolo went over to Goku, who was still screaming, and peered over him.

"It was fun Goku. I had such a good time and hearing you scream like you are now was the cherry on the top. So thank you. I shall relieve you of your pain now. Die…Goku." Said Piccolo as he started to gather ki for a lethal shot at Goku's heart.

But before he could get his attack off, he felt the sole of really rough shoe smack his face as flew off and hit the brick wall near the arena.

Ranma had come in to save Goku.

--

"Wha-NO! Don't do that! You'll only get yourself killed!" roared Tien as he saw Ranma go and stop Piccolo from killing Goku.

"What does it matter three eyes? If Goku dies, then we all die. I'd rather die fighting than stand around doing nothing. Hurry and get Goku those sensu beans!" roared Ranma as he got in defensive stance.

"S-Sure." Said Tien, confused by Ranma's actions. He went over to get the bag of sensu beans so that he could give Goku some. If they could get Goku into good health, then they would still have a chance.

As Tien made his way into the arena, Piccolo suddenly emerged from the rubble and flew straight towards him.

"Come get me!" roared Ranma he went off to confront Piccolo.

Piccolo snorted in annoyance and easily slapped Ranma aside. Ranma found himself flying towards the brick wall but recovered, but not fast enough.

For Piccolo was soon in front of Tien and glared at him.

Tien glared back in total hatred and aimed to punch…

Only to find himself on the ground, writhing in pain as Piccolo easily avoided his attack and snatched the bag of sensu beans.

"I would have to thank Korin for personally growing these for me. I might spare his life." Said Piccolo as he got a sensu bean out. He gathered a bit of ki and incinerated the rest of the beans, leaving none left for the other warriors. Once this was done, Piccolo took the one surviving bean and proceeded to eat it.

"No!" roared Ranma as he attempted to stop Piccolo but could not get to him in time.

All the warriors looked on at Piccolo and knew that their last chance of winning this battle was no gone. Without Goku, they knew they could not win this battle.

--

Author's Note: I know, kinda short but I hope you all enjoyed it. The end is coming around already so stick around! Anyway, have a good night!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: All rights to the name "Ranma" and "Dragonball" belong solely to their owners, Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. I do not profit whatsoever from writing this story.

Author's Note: Well there is not much to say. I know most of you guys are torn as to how I placed Ranma but I believe that I did place him as accurately as I could. He may seem weak compared to the others but that is how I feel his power (and skill) measure up at this point.

To eav: Goku is most certainly a martial arts genius. He may be slow in other things but not martial arts. Watch the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament saga again and you'll see how Goku is able to break down and counter most of the techniques thrown at him. Just learning how to harness the Kaio-Ken and Spirit Bomb later in the series is testament to Goku's martial arts ability since none of the humans, nor King Kai himself, could master them.

To Lord Helpme: You got me there. I completely forgot that Ranma is terrified by cats. Well…too late for that.

Enough it is time for the story. Hope you all enjoy!

--

The remaining warriors could only look dumbfounded as they saw their only hero fall to the ground, two gaping wounds releasing a river of blood onto the arena.

To make matters worse, both Tien and Ranma had utterly failed in their attempts to save Goku as their interference exasperated matters.

Of course, Piccolo did not mind as he was able to easily repel Ranma and snatch the sensu beans from Tien's grasp, consuming one of the beans to restore his strength before disposing of the others. It now seemed that there was no longer any hope.

Goku, with Kami's training, was the only one who stood a chance against the Demon King but now things looked bleak as the hero lay in the ground writhing in pain.

"I would like to thank you all for giving me the opportunity to regain my strength. You do not know who good it feels to know that I could obliterate the whole lot of you if I so wished. Even so, I will make you all a proposition due to your kindness." gloated Piccolo as he eyed Tien.

Tien punched the ground hard with his clenched fists, angry at himself for failing so miserably and making things now nearly impossible to deal with.

"As the Demon King I have rights to this planet and its government. No longer will man have the power to reign over all living things. I will make this planet the nest of my kin, demons of whom have been wronged. Even so, I will spare your lives warriors if you will allow me to dispose of Goku and kill him instantly and be done with it. The choice is yours. But be warned…if you resist me not only will I end your pitiful lives but I will make sure that Goku dies a very slow, painful death." said Piccolo.

The others flinched at the sound of his proposition and were utterly torn as to what to do.

"We…we must give in to his request. I do not see any reason for drawing this out any longer than it has to. We could at least be assured that Goku will rest soon." said Tien glumly.

"What are you saying! I can't believe you three eyes! Do you honestly think that this green creep is going to stick to his word? I would rather die fighting than have to submit to him!" roared Ranma, his fists clenched tightly.

Piccolo looked over at Ranma and smirked, exposing his fangs. It really unnerved the fighters.

"What righteous intentions you seem to possess child. Your mind is not easily swayed by word of mouth I believe." said Piccolo.

"What's it to you?" roared Ranma.

"Nothing at all but it is your devotion to honor and sacrifice that makes me hate you martial artists so much. I could dismember you right now if I so wished." gloated Piccolo.

"Why don't ya try it then?" replied Ranma with a trace of haughtiness in his voice.

"Your overconfidence will be your downfall, just like with that fool Goku. Just know that by your aggressive actions that Goku will die a most painful death. I hope that you can bear that in your conscious as I take your life." said Piccolo as he got into his fighting stance.

"Ranma no! You do not know what you are getting yourself into! Believe me when I say this, you are NO match for the Demon King!" yelled Tien.

"Shut up! I don't need no one to tell me who I can and can't beat. I will find out for myself." said Ranma before he launched himself at Piccolo and begun fighting with him.

Just as Tien was about to go and stop him, he heard a weak laugh come from below him. Tien looked down to see Goku, who had heavy lidded eyes and his wound still bleeding, laugh from below.

"Let him go Tien. I understand that you all care about my well being but right now, the last thing I would want is for you guys to give up to that monster. Fight Tien, fight with all your heart. I'm counting on you…friend." said Goku before his eyes closed once more.

"Krillen, Yamcha! Come and get Goku out of here. We need to have him cared for until we can get rid of Piccolo. The tournament is over. It will take all of us to kill him." Said Tien as Krillen and Yamcha came over and picked Goku up.

They soon got Goku over to the sidelines where both Bulma and Chi-Chi threw themselves at Goku and started to sob heavily. Both Kami and Master Roshi walked over to the warriors. Kami remained stoic and silent as Master Roshi begun his speech.

"I fear that I will be of no use in this battle. It is such a shame that young ones like you should be risking your lives for our sake. I will pray for you and your successes. Go now…I will not stop you." said Master Roshi as the others looked on at him with kind eyes before the warriors soon got up and headed towards the battle field.

--

"_Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" _roared Ranma as he unleashed a flurry of punches towards his opponent.

"All too slow." said Piccolo as then dodged each of the punches with lighting fast reflexes.

Ranma was not deterred as he continued the onslaught, Piccolo's smirk infuriating him to no end.

"Dammit stay still!" roared Ranma as he went even faster than ever.

"As you wish." said Piccolo as he effortlessly caught both of Ranma's fists and kneed Ranma hard in the stomach.

Ranma could only gasp in shock as he felt all the air leave his lungs.

_I…I can't believe he was able to counter my Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken so easily. _

Ranma started to fall to the ground but was not left in peace as Piccolo elbowed him in the back. Ranma yelled out in pain as he was suddenly knocked down into the arena, his face smashing into the tile below.

Before Ranma could recover his bearings, he felt his head sting greatly as he was lifted up by his pig-tail and forced up to his feet by Piccolo.

Ranma was soon face to face with Piccolo and he could see Piccolo smiling evilly, before Piccolo sent a fist crashing down onto Ranma's face, knocking him down once more.

_This guy is really asking for it. I HATE it when they pick me up from there. I swear, if he does that again I am going to make him pay._

Once again, Ranma felt his Piccolo pick him up by the ponytail but Ranma then used this opportunity to counter attack.

When they were face to face once more, Ranma spat in Piccolo's face, taking a cue at what Chi-Chi did to him earlier at the tournament. Piccolo growled in disgust but it was all the time Ranma needed.

Immediately Ranma aimed a sucker punch at Piccolo's face at him straight in the nose.

It had the intended effect as Piccolo let go of Ranma to place his hands on his nose and roared out in pain. Ranma debated as to whether he should ease up and put some space in between them or take the initiative.

Yet, after seeing what Goku tried to do when Piccolo was seemingly helpless and how Goku's hasty actions led to his downfall, Ranma decided to step back and plan out his next course of action.

The last thing he wanted was another hole in his chest.

--

Piccolo, in the meanwhile, was pleasantly surprised that Ranma caught him off guard.

The punch did not hurt Piccolo at all but he used it as to feign pain, hoping to get Ranma into a false sense of security and do something stupid…like what Goku did.

Piccolo could not help but be impressed when he saw Ranma leap back and place some space in between them.

_Looks like that kid is smarter than he lets on. Very wise of him to learn from other's mistakes and not repeat them. I may be entertained yet._

Piccolo ended his act by rubbing his nose and facing Ranma with a serious face before dashing towards Ranma to continue their fight.

--

It was at this point when Yamcha, Krillen and Tien were about to go and join the battle. They saw were relieved that Ranma was still alive and it looked as if he and Piccolo were in a standoff at the moment. It was then they decided that they should enter and start their portion of the fight.

At once they joined Ranma's side.

"I really do not need your help. I can take care of this chump all by myself." said Ranma.

"Sure buddy, sure." said Krillen sarcastically.

"I'm serious! I don't want you guys coming in to ruin all the fun. I'll take him down myself!" said Ranma as he charged before the Demon King. Yet, a hand caught his shoulder and restrained him from his hasty actions.

"Hardly. You are going to need our help and more if you want to live until tomorrow." replied Tien as he let go of Ranma's shoulder.

"Hey. I ain't gonna die yet! I have to kick your ass before that happens!" said Ranma confidently. Tien smiled at the bold declaration before continuing.

"I look forward to our rematch as well. Still, I know how you feel. I myself do not like the idea of all four of us taking on the Demon King alone but we must cast aside our pride. The world is at stake here…Goku's life is at stake here. Ever has Goku come to our aid when it was needed the most. Now he is counting on us to finish the job he started. I will gladly cast aside my pride if it means saving the man named Goku." said Tien.

"That was beautiful Tien. I would cry right now if there weren't so many people watching me." said Yamcha.

"Thank you Yamcha. C'mon, we got a world to save!" said Tien as all the fighters soon launched themselves from their positions straight towards Piccolo.

"Oh my gosh folks, this battle has now turned into a melee! I wonder what is to come about from this?" roared the announcer even though there was hardly any crowd to announce to anymore.

Krillen flew in with a flying punch, in which Piccolo dodged easily. Piccolo was about to take the initiative and counter attack when he sensed a presence behind him. Piccolo immediately ducked an overhead kick by Yamcha. Piccolo growled in annoyance as he elbowed Yamcha in the stomach.

Yamcha gasped as the wind was taken out of him but Tien was there to back him up as he flew in with an attack of his own. Piccolo flew forward to meet Tien as the two of them started a minor skirmish in an attempt to see who was better.

In the meanwhile, Krillen was able to help Yamcha up.

"Thanks man." said Yamcha.

"No prob. Let's finish this green freak once and for all." said Krillen.

At once, both he and Yamcha begun to gather ki as Tien bought them precious seconds.

--

Piccolo and Tien looked about even as they were exchanging blows, checking feints, parrying one's attacks and counterattacking. The speed in which they moved was awesome. Even so, Tien soon grew winded and could not keep up the pace. Piccolo, sensing this, turned up the heat and soon, Tien was on the defensive.

Just when things were about to get ugly for Tien, Ranma came in and started his own attack. Tien took the time to get out of the skirmish to take a breather as Ranma did his best to distract the Demon King.

At this point, Ranma was pulling every trick he knew to keep up with Piccolo. He knew that the Demon King packed a solid punch and he could not afford to get hit.

Piccolo aimed for a straight punch in which Ranma ducked. Once underneath, Ranma attempted a gut punch but Piccolo sidestepped and proceeded to elbow Ranma in the back. Ranma once again tasted the tile as he was knocked straight down.

Not wanting to remain vulnerable, he immediately recovered using a back flip to put some space between him and Piccolo. Piccolo dashed in recklessly, running as fast as he could in order to catch Ranma.

This was when Ranma pulled a trick out of Genma Saotome's book and sidestepped at the last second and proceeded to trip Piccolo with an outstretched foot.

The other warriors looked in shock as the great Demon King fell for such a cheap trick and the Demon King proceeded to lose his balance and fall to the tile.

Yet, just as Ranma was about to capitalize, Piccolo used _Zanzuken _to phase out and Ranma ended up hitting air.

"Ranma above you!" roared Tien.

Ranma resisted the total urge to look up and waste precious seconds and instead just moved out of the way as soon as he heard Tien to insure that he would dodge any impending counter attack.

It was a good thing that Ranma's instincts were as sharp as they were because a millisecond after Ranma made his move, Piccolo crashed into the arena with a diving kick aimed where the back of his head was just less than a second ago. Ranma knew that if he took the blow, he would at the very least be sent into a coma as the kick destroyed the tile and brick of the arena as if it were made out of clay.

"Hey, take it easy Mean Green! You coulda killed me with that!" said Ranma.

Piccolo scowled at the ridiculous nickname that he had been christened before replying.

"I was trying to kill you. If you fear your life, flee at once. I am sure that your friends will understand and will buy you the time needed for you to run away…just like the girl you are." said Piccolo.

The insult had the intended effect as Ranma's hair begun to stand on end. Even his pigtail straightened outward, so angry Ranma was at the insult.

"Ranma Saotome does not run nor is he a GIRL!!!" roared Ranma as he charged towards Piccolo.

At once Ranma resumed his attack on Piccolo, attacking with vigor and fury but his form was sloppy and holes begun to show up in Ranma's form.

Ranma attempted a _Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken_ but Piccolo, just as before, was dodging the blows as if they were nothing. Piccolo ducked under what appeared to be the 500th punch in three seconds and proceeded to land a severe uppercut on Ranma.

Ranma felt a searing pain on his tongue as he felt his jaw snap shut. Stars clouded his vision as he saw the world grow dim, then bright, then dim again. The world was upside down and before Ranma could even get his bearings, he felt a harsh blow strike him on the back, knocking him down into the tile once more.

Ranma tasted copper on his mouth and he wondered why. It wasn't until he opened his mouth did he realize that he bit a small part of his tongue off. The wound was not lethal by any means but he knew that it was going to be annoying to have an open sore like that in the middle of a fight.

Sensing danger, Ranma gained his bearings at once and proceeded to jump up to avoid any impending attack that may done on his prone form.

It was too bad that Piccolo was expecting this and was already going to retaliate when he felt a harsh blow on his face. Piccolo felt the wind cut his skin as he was sent flying away by a boot that landed smartly on his cheek.

Piccolo looked up in his flight to see Tien as the culprit of the surprise attack.

Yet, before Piccolo could do anything, Tien once more attacked the airborne Piccolo, snapping another kick on the lower jaw of the Demon King. Piccolo flew back and through his gaze he saw that he was heading straight into the temple wall and he could not recover in time. Piccolo braced himself for the impact.

--

Ranma landed on the ground to see Piccolo flying towards the temple wall. He soon saw the Demon King collide with the wall, causing a large booming sound to ensue as the Demon King was covered in brick and rubble.

Ranma looked up to see Tien in mid-air, breathing hard but alright.

"Thanks three-eyes, I owe ya one for that." said Ranma as Tien landed on the arena.

"No problem. Let's get out of the way, though, for Krillen and Yamcha are about to unleash their strongest attacks now that Piccolo is down." said Tien.

At once, Ranma turned to see that both Yamcha and Krillen were indeed ready.

Krillen had his hands cupped together, a blue light emanating from it. Yamcha had a ball of ki on his hand, ready to be thrown at a moment's notice.

It was then that Tien placed a hand on Ranma.

"You know how to manipulate ki?" asked Tien.

"Yeah…sort of." replied Ranma.

"Good. We will need to combine our attacks if we wish for the demise of the Demon King." answered Tien.

"Sure thing, I'll see what I can do!" replied Ranma.

At once, Tien began to gather ki, his bald head forming veins due to the stress. Though the bottom two eyes were closed, Ranma could see the third one bloodshot and stressed. At once Ranma began to dig deep to summon his own ki technique.

"You ready guys?" asked Tien to three warriors after building up his ki for about five seconds.

"Yeah!" roared Krillen and Yamcha.

"Let's do this!"said Krillen.

"With you there Krillen!" replied Yamcha.

"Now or never." thought Ranma as he imagined himself beating Piccolo to a pulp, with his foot on top of the unconscious Demon King's chest.

"Kamehameha!"

"Spirit Ball!"

"Kihoko!"

"Now! Moko Takashiba!"

The remaining spectators were treated to a great light show as a blue beam, two yellow balls of ki and another one that appeared to have no form all raced their way to the rubble where the Demon King was laying.

The attacks landed at the same time and soon, there could be heard a gigantic explosion. Gale force winds shook the tourney site.

Soon, the dust cleared and there was nothing to be seen. All four warriors fell to their knees, exhausted.

"Even if he is the Demon King, I highly doubt he could have withstood all four of our attacks at once." said Krillen.

"I hope so too." said Yamcha.

"Well, there goes Mean Green." said Ranma.

Just when they thought they could relax though, they heard the voice of none other than Kami.

"He's not dead! Watch yourselves!"

Krillen, confused as he was, soon spoke:

"Wait a sec! If Kami is still alive, then where could Piccolo…."

"Right here!" roared a voice.

"At once, all the warriors looked up in the air and were shocked to see the Demon King still alive. His purple training gi was torn a bit and he sustained a few wounds but other than that, he was still completely fine.

"What insolence! Why can you bugs not die!?!" roared Piccolo as he soon began to gather all his ki up to dangerous levels.

At once, Tien knew what Piccolo was planning to do.

"Everyone, take cover!" yelled Tien.

Ranma looked up toward the sky.

Everything went deadly quiet in his ears. It was as if time was going in slow motion. He saw the Demon King raise his arms and soon, a bright, beautiful light began to emanate from him.

Ranma could not help but think that Piccolo looked somewhat divine with all the light surrounding him. Soon, Ranma heard a large explosion and he saw that he was engulfed in the light.

"So…bright." thought Ranma before the brightness soon turned into utter darkness.

--

Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter. Have a happy New Year's!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: All rights to the name "Ranma" and "Dragonball" belong solely to their owners, Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. I do not profit whatsoever from writing this story.

Author's Note: This story really is taking longer than I thought it to be. I was pretty sure that I was going to have it wrapped up by the last chapter but, eh, who cares. Thanks for those who have read and reviewed I really appreciate it. Anyway, enjoy!

--

White.

That was all that Ranma could see as the ki energy from Piccolo's explosion was bearing down near him. His brain was telling him that this was a very dangerous situation and that he should be running like the Devil was on his heels.

But he couldn't.

For some reason, he just could not move his body and he felt entirely helpless. Just when he began to feel the searing heat near the pores of his skin, he felt a pair of muscular arms grasp him in the waist and pull him down.

The bright light suddenly vanished and all about him he could only see darkness as his feet soon hit the ground. He looked up to see light coming from the top but it was dark all around him. He figured that he was underground.

"Phew, I'm glad I was able to get you outta of there. A few seconds longer and you would have been incinerated."

Ranma turned to see Tien smiling at him. The smile unnerved Ranma a bit as he suddenly realized that Tien had saved his life.

How he hated to be indebted to others.

"I-I didn't need your help Three-Eyes. I would have escaped when I wanted!" protested Ranma.

"Really? From what I saw, you looked as if you were a statue. No, I believe you would have died had I not done anything." replied Tien with a serious look on his face.

Ranma knew he could not win this one.

"Well, I still did not need your help but...thanks...thanks anyway." conceded Ranma.

"No problem." replied Tien.

"Where are we?" asked Ranma.

"I blasted a hole underground. Everyone is in here right now and it should protect us until Piccolo has finished his technique." replied Tien.

Before Ranma could say anything, he heard a loud wail coming from the far end of the hole. With his eyes now adjusted to the dimness of their last minute haven, he saw the woman he knew as "Chi-Chi" sob over the still body of Goku. Krillen, Yamcha, the announcer, Bulma, Master Roshi, Oolong, Puar and Kami all stood around, at a loss to console the sobbing girl.

"Oh no." said Tien as he hurried over to Goku's side. Ranma hurried at his side as well, wondering what was going on.

There lay Goku, his wound worse than ever despite Kami's best intentions. The blood lay like a large lake beneath his body, with the rivets cutting their way into the earth.

"G-Guys...I just want to let you all know that you have been the best friends that I have ever had. I-I had a blast and I got to fight some very tough people. T-Too bad this one was a little too tough for me...." said Goku, his strength waning by the second.

"No Goku! Please, you can't die!" sobbed Chi-Chi loudly as she placed her head on the worn body of Goku, clutching at the remaining articles of clothing he had with all her might.

"No...Goku...."said Yamcha quietly, not really being able to take in the fact that Goku was dying before their very eyes and they could do nothing about it.

"K-Krillen, please, come over here." said Goku weakly.

"Y-Yes Goku." said Krillen as he made his way closer to him, awaiting his instructions like a squire to his knight.

"I-I want you to take care of Chi-Chi for me. I won't be there for her but I know that if you watched her then I could die in peace." said Goku.

"No, that's ridicolous! You'll live, just watch!" said Krillen enthusiastically, hoping to get the somber mood lifted.

"No Krillen. I have had many close saves but this one is it. I know I won't be able to pull through." said Goku.

"Goku...." replied Krillen, at a loss to say anything.

"Chi-Chi."

"Y-Y-Yes Goku?" asked Chi-Chi, who was tear stained and obviously heartbroken.

"I-I don't know how to say this. The few times I have been around you, I felt something about you. It wasn't like how I feel about Krillen or the others, who are my friends. M-My heart would race and for some reason, my stomach would feel wierd around you. I don't know what this feeling is, but I think it is something special and I am deeply sorry that I can't share that with you." said Goku.

"I-It's love Goku. That is what you feel." said Bulma.

"Love, eh? I never would have thought it would feel so wierd and...good at the same time. It feels even better than fighting. I am so sorry Chi-Chi but I want to leave just letting you know that I...love you. I hope that one day, we will meet again." said Goku.

"No! You won't have to! I'll make sure that you won't die!" replied Chi-Chi, near hysterical at this point.

Goku only nodded his head.

"There is nothing you can do. Just have faith that we will see each other in the after life. I...I'm gonna miss you all...good...by...."

There was an unusual stillness around Goku as he drew his last breath and he was no more.

--

While the outside of their shelter was rumbling and full of chaos due to Piccolo's explosion, everyone inside the hole could only kneel in their sorrow and disbelief that their greatest hero had died.

Chi-Chi could not be consoled as she clung to Goku with all her might, not wanting to let go, shouting at the top of her lungs to get Goku to wake up.

It was with great reluctance that Kami had to knock her out so that all could be calm.

Even Ranma could not believe the sight he was there to behold.

He hardly knew Goku and could not understand the depths of sorrow that was about the makeshift shelter they were in.

Yet, he could not help but feel utterly miserable, with his eyes getting a bit misty.

"Just a bit of dust that's all!" thought Ranma defiantly, refusing to let himself believe that he could weep over the fallen hero, no matter how little time he had to mourn him.

In the midst of this, Goku's body suddenly disappeared to everyone's astonishment.

"It must be the work of King Yemma. He probably has big plans for Goku." said Kami in an effort to get the uproar to die down.

"What does that mean?" asked Tien.

"As Guardian of this planet I can traverse the planes of the living and dead. I know of some figures that deal with those souls who have died and decide whether they go to heaven or hell. Goku keeping his body is significant as it is a privilege that few enjoy." said Kami.

"And why is that?" asked Yamcha, somewhat suspicous of this story.

"To that, I have no answer for you mortals. There are things that are better left unsaid and I cannot reveal the processes in which the afterlife governs itself by. All I can tell you is that Goku indeed is in a better place and will not suffer." said Kami with great finality.

To that, it seemed that everyone calmed down, satisfied that Goku was indeed in a better place and that he could finally rest after all his heroics.

Unfortunately, the shock wave from Piccolo's explosion reached new levels all of all sudden and there was a large boom.

"Everyone get down!" roared Tien as everyone got to the ground, placing their hands over their heads in order to brace themselves for the large impact.

--

After about five minutes of expending his ki, Piccolo was soon finished in demolishing everything within a five mile radius.

Piccolo, who was in the air, descended down to earth, panting heavily due to the large strain of his previous action.

Still, it was not in vain. All around him was just a barren desert, devoid of all life whatsoever. Piccolo could not help but start to laugh maniaclly.

"I did it! I have killed them all! Now no one can stop me as I go and enslave the human race!" said Piccolo.

Piccolo's celebration was cut short as he saw several hands emerge from the dust. One by one, each of the remaining participants and fighters emerged like zombies, straight from a horror film.

Piccolo himself could not believe that they were still alive.

It was at this point that Piccolo started to get concerned. He was almost spent, considering the amount of energy he used.

"What! You all should be dead!" roared Piccolo.

"Looks like we're not then." replied Tien.

"No matter. I'll kill you all here and now!" roared Piccolo as he flew towards the warriors.

Piccolo collided with Tien first.

Piccolo made for a straight punch towards Tien's face, in which Tien ducked. Tien attempted to capitalize by aiming a gut punch but Piccolo sidestepped it and elbowed Tien in the back. As Tien went down, Yamcha came in, saying "Wolf Fang Fist!" and attempted to pepper Piccolo with a barrage of punches and swipes.

Piccolo grunted in annoyance as he was dodging the blows and was about to counter attack when Ranma suddenly joined Yamcha.

"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!"

Together, both Yamcha and Ranma were able to pepper Piccolo with a barrage of lightning quicky blows.

Piccolo could not avoid them all and was soon getting pummeled by both the long haired and pig-tailed martial artist.

After taking about a good three hundred punches in about two seconds, Piccolo had had enough as he roared loudly and managed to blow both Ranma and Yamcha away with a kia.

Still, Piccolo was not given any time to rest as he ducked at the last second to a kick aimed at his by Krillen. Piccolo, now below Krillen, proceeded to shoulder tackle the short man and grabbed him as he soon flew towards a boulder.

"Let me go!" yelled Krillen as he was pounding Piccolo on the back.

"As you wish." said Piccolo as he suddenly grabbed the short monk and threw him fiercly into the boulder, causing a minor explosion of dust and debris.

Once the dust cleared, there lay Krillen, unconcious and unable to fight any longer.

"Next." said Piccolo at the three remaining warriors.

--

Ranma, Yamcha and Tien were spent as they were panting hard, trying to get their wind back.

"I don't get it. Doesn't this freak ever get tired?" panted Ranma, trying desperately to think of a way to stop Piccolo.

"Well, he _is_ the Demon King. It is foolish to apply human limitations to a supernatural creature as he." said Tien.

"Then how do we beat this guy then?" asked Yamcha as he wiped some sweat of his brow.

"Wait a second! How 'bout I use my 'Hiryu Shoten Ha' again. With that guy's ki, I am pretty sure that I can waste him with it." said Ranma.

"Are you talking about that giant tornado that you summoned? It was not even able to dispatch me, how would expect it to take care of the Demon King Piccolo? And besides, are you sure that you can pull it off in your state?" asked Tien.

"I thought about that Three Eyes, but I figure this. My technique uses my ki and the ki around those I am fighting with and against. All you and Wolf Man-."

"Now I'm Wolf Man?" interjected Yamcha.

"Yeah, cool name right?" asked Ranma.

"I guess...." replied Yamcha, somewhat unsure as to what to say.

"Anyway, you and Wolf Man go and fight as hard and as furiously as you can while following my movements. Knowing Green Bean over there, he will probably fight back just as hard to match you. Don't worry, that is what we want. I'll channel his and your ki into me. When you hear me say 'It's finished!' I want you two to get away from me as soon as you can because that is when I will unleash hell!" said Ranma.

Both Tien and Yamcha stood there for a moment, wondering if such an outrageous plan would work.

"This sounds like a good plan, but I am sure that there is a draw back." said Tien.

"Yeah, I wanted to tell you two that I cannot get hit whatsoever while using my 'Hiryu Shoten Ha' technique. If I get hit, then its over." said Ranma.

"That's easy enough then. We'll cover you, just make sure that your technique will finish the Demon King once and for all. You with me Yamcha?" asked Tien.

"Ready as ever, lets do this!" said Yamcha eagerly.

It was then that Piccolo got impatient and began to speak.

"Whatever you are planning it will not work! Now come at me!" roared Piccolo as he flew towards the three remaining warriors.

Tien, Yamcha and Ranma all looked at each other and nodded before flying off to meet their enemy.

--

On the sidelines, the announcer had all but given up his enthusiasm. Even though the tournament stated that it would disqualify a participant if they killed another, never did such a thing happen.

He, of course, had been announcing since the 19th World Martial Arts tournament when he was a young lad just shy of twenty.

How he did remember Goku, the young boy so enthusiastic about fighting. Never did he see such joy in a person about martial arts. He was going to miss him.

He then turned to see both the man named Kami and Master Roshi watch the battle with grim determination while the blue haired girl, Bulma, was comforting a sobbing Chi-Chi from the death of her new spouse. The pig, Oolong and the flying cat, Puar, also stayed by Bulma and Chi-Chi's side though they said nothing.

The announcer turned back to watch the fight. This was quite possibly the best fight that he had ever witnessed but even he knew the implications.

If that Ma Jr. happened to win the tournament, he knew that dire things would come to pass and even though he was always taught to remain objective in the tournaments, he knew who he was rooting for.

He just hoped they could win.

--

This time, all three warrios poured their heart and souls in as they fought Piccolo. Yamcha once again used his "Wolf Fang Fist" and proceeded to pressure Piccolo with a barrage of punches and swipes.

As Piccolo was dodging the blows, Tien began to concentrate hard and soon was able to split himself into two (figuring that four would drain too much ki.)

It was then that Tien number one and two began to go at Piccolo along with Yamcha. As they were doing this, they saw Ranma join in and they began to follow his movements.

It was then that they realized that they were spiralling into a circle, and each time they completed a revolution, the space between them got tighter and tighter.

Piccolo did not notice this and aimed a punch at Ranma. Immediately, Tien number two saw this and went in to block it.

Piccolo did not understand why this human was protecting the other. Piccolo wrote it off as being something sentimental that only humans would do and thanked the gods that he was not born a human.

So Piccolo began to do battle with Tien number two. Tien number two did his best to keep up but the power gap between him and the Demon King was far too great and was soon overtaken.

Thankfully, Tien number two was not alone in this fight as both Tien number one and Yamcha came in to give support.

Tien number one aimed a double axe handle towards Piccolo's head.

Piccolo immediately dodged it but was soon fighting off a barrage from Yamcha.

Admist the chaos, Ranma was calm. Using the "Soul of Ice", Ranma was not phased by the constant fighting about him.

He directed the chaos into a spiral. The Demon King had no clue as to what was going on and he was falling for the bait as the spiral got ever so tight.

He had to hurry though. The Demon King was beginning to overpower his comrades and if any of them flew away from the spiral, then that valuable ki would be lost forever.

Soon, Ranma felt the sensation.

His skin was searing. It felt as if he had walked into an oven, so fiercly hot the ki around him was. Even so, Ranma knew that he was close.

He took the final step.

Ranma felt the temperature drop to nothing, chilling him to the bone before a nice lukewarm began to settle in. Ranma felt the ki from his and the other warriors swirling about him, the wind picking up both above his head and beneath his feet. The suction of the vortex was complete. It was now or never!

"It's finished!" roared Ranma loudly.

At once Yamcha and Tiens number One and Two soon flew off, leaving Ranma alone with Piccolo.

"Gah! What's going on?" roared Piccolo.

"I told you, IT'S FINISHED!" roared Ranma in response and at once, the giant tornado soon came down upon Piccolo.

Piccolo looked up as he felt the winds biting into his skin and yelled out in agony as he was swept away.

--

In the midst of all this, Tien merged back into one and made way towards Krillen. The gale force winds made it difficult to maneuver but he soon got to the unconscious Krillen.

Tien soon joined the rest of the crowd as they took cover from the gale force winds.

After what happened to be a long period of time the wind finally died down and soon, the storm clouds came in as they started to drench the entire earth in rain.

Ranma stood in the middle of the large crater that he had created.

"I-I did it." he said before feeling the dreaded piter pater of rain.

"Damn. Why now?" thought Ranma as he felt himself soon transform into a girl once more.

She turned towards the crowd that was left.

"Is it...over?" asked Bulma sheepishly, not sure to celebrate or not.

"I...think so." replied Master Roshi, praying that it was so.

It was at this moment that Krillen was soon roused.

"Gosh I have such a huge headache. What happened?" asked Krillen.

"Ranma, he, or should I say now, she, was able to use her technique on the Demon King. We are just not sure if he is dead or not." replied Tien.

Krillen, Yamcha and Tien then all made their way towards Ranma as they saw her slump down in exhaustion.

"Did I do it?" asked Ranma weakly.

"I-I hope so." replied Tien.

It was then that they heard a loud, agonizing wail coming near them.

Everybody shuddered as they recognized the wail coming from Piccolo.

For there he was, on a huge crater that he inadvertently created, bleeding profusely from his mouth. Apparently, Piccolo was so exhausted that he could no longer use "Buku Jutsu" and stop his dissension to earth. As such, he landed back on the ground with tremendous force.

It was then that they all heard another gasp come from behind them. They all turned to see Kami on the ground, breathing heavily, as if each were to be his last.

They all went to him.

"I-I just want to congratulate you all for defeating the Demon King. It is unfortunate that I would have to die along with him, but then again, he was created from me and as such, I too am responsible for all the lives he has taken. The Dragonballs will be no more, for it was I who created them and as such, their lives are tied with mine. Even so, I do not regret this for I am already well advanced in years and would have died sooner or later."

It was then that Kami began coughing up a bit. Ranma, Yamcha, Tien and Krillen tried to rush near him but Kami placed his hand up, bidding them that such an action was not needed. He recovered before speaking again.

"Young warriors, continue to train for there are threats that exist besides the Demon King. Your services would be wholly needed and it is now up to you young warriors to protect this world. It is my time to go. May you all fare well."

At this, Kami gasped his last breath before laying still once and forever more. Across them, they heard Piccolo gasp out his last words.

"Hehe...so you humans are not as weak you let on...to believe that the greatness of the Demon King was to end at your pitiful hands. Mayhap Fate has a hand in this and that I was never destined to conquer...you may won today humans but do not get complacent for evil such as myself never sleeps and one day we will have our revenge...."

The Demon King finally drew his last breath and he too died as well and the rain poured on ever harder as the Earth mourned yet another life lost in battle.

--

Author's Note: Well, this is it. I hope you all enjoyed it!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: All rights to the name "Ranma" and "Dragonball" belong solely to their owners, Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. I do not profit whatsoever from writing this story.

Author's Note: Well, both of my teams, the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens are out of the playoffs. I don't know if any of you all care for football but I just wanted to put that out since I was kind of sad yesterday. Oh well, I made up for it by watching a bunch of "Lucky Star" episodes yesterday so I think I'm fine (the show is addicting as hell, don't watch it if you are a busy person.) Anyway, enjoy!

--

All the warriors stood upon the dead bodies of both Kami and the Demon King Piccolo. It was a sight to see but like Goku, both the bodies disappeared from sight as well. The rain poured on them harder than ever and even though they knew that a great threat had passed, they could not bring themselves to be happy.

The sacrifices made to insure the safety of the world now seemed to harsh as now not only has the Guardian of Earth died but also its greatest hero, Son Goku.

Ranma looked upon the others and saw their utter anguish. While both Yamcha, Tien and Master Roshi looked forlorn and silent while Krillen was the one who sobbed outloud, he who was on his knees and pounding the Earth.

"Goku!" roared Krillen as he held a fist out to the heavens.

From what Ranma had picked up, Krillen was Goku's best friend; a brother in which he never had and now having someone so precious taken away caused the short man to sob. Suprisingly, both Chi-Chi and Bulma came over to comfort him as they all sobbed outloud together.

Even Oolong and Puar could not help but tear up as the realization of Goku's death came to them.

It was times like these that Ranma hated so much. She always hated not being in control of the situation. Such a thing like death could not possibly be controlled by mortal means and she could n ot help but start to tear up too, so great the anguish was around them.

"Damn girl body...making me over emotional and all." thought Ranma bitterly.

Just as though the mood would never lift, all of all sudden, the clouds parted and the sun came out. At once, everybody had stopped their mouring as they witnessed the sudden change in climate. Yet before they could absorb the scenery they suddenly heard a voice that made them stand on end.

"Hey guys!"

Everybody turned around to see Goku standing before them.

"I thought he was dead! Am I seeing things?" thought Ranma immediately.

"G-Goku??? Is that really you?" stammered Krillen, apparently in shock at Goku's appearance.

"What!" said both Tien and Yamcha as they turned and, to their sudden shock, see Goku stand before them.

"Well, yeah." replied Goku.

"Goku!" said Chi-Chi as she ran towards him and nearly knocked him down as she embraced him. "You're back! I can't believe it!"

"H-Hey!" said Goku as he felt more and more weight about him. He looked to see that he was surrounded by his friends and embraced by not only Chi-Chi but Bulma, Oolong and Puar, all of them so joyous in their expressions.

"I thought you were dead for sure but now I know. No one can beat you!" said Bulma gleefully.

"Umm...guys...." said Goku.

"This is great! Goku, you don't know what you put us through! But I am glad you are alive! Look, Piccolo is dead! Thanks to Ranma over there!" said Krillen excitedly.

"I know! She did an awesome job as did all of you. I am proud of you all." replied Goku gleefully.

"You what? You knew that Ranma killed Piccolo?" asked Yamcha in suprise..

"Of course I knew, I watched the whole thing while I was in Heaven." replied Goku light-heartily, as if it was the most common thing in the world to say..

At that, everybody except Ranma and Tien burst into laughter.

"Oh Goku, that's a good one! Here Kami was telling us that you died or something! That was a neat trick, disappearing on us like that. You gotta show me that one next time!" said Krillen.

Ranma was suspicious. From what she knew, people just don't disappear like that with the wounds he sustained and come back looking brand new. Also, if Goku was capable of such abilities, why did he not join them in their fight. From what she knew, Goku was always eager for a good fight so to back down intentionally just did not sound like him.

It was then that she saw it. Right above his head, oblivous to everybody around him, there lay a faint, golden ring.

"There's no way." thought Ranma as she tried to see if the halo on Goku's head was held up by string or ki or something.

She could not see nor sense a thing. The halo was there, almost as if it were a part of his body. That for sure meant that he was dead, but how was he in the world of the living?

"That's a good question Ranma. I too wondered about that as well." said Tien telepatically to Ranma.

"You reading my mind Three-Eyes? That's rude you know, especially without my permission." replied Ranma telepatically back, sounding a bit flustered. Tien laughed a bit before continuing.

"I'm sorry Ranma, I could not help it. Though I think you are right. If Goku was really better, he would have continued fighting. He is not the type to cower away in fright."

"I agree with you there." replied Ranma.

They were jarred from their thoughts when an old,small woman made her presence known. She had pink hair and looked like a cos-playing witch. Ranma thought her to be a phoney but soon saw that she was levitating on her crystal ball, making her the real deal.

The old woman snorted loudly, getting everybody's attention.

"Goku! Stop dawdling around already. King Yemma is already furious that you have taken so long. You were only to take five minutes to say your goodbyes, not have an afternoon picnic!" said the old woman annoyingly to Goku.

"What do you mean Baba?" asked Roshi to his much older sister.

"Ass! Fools! The whole lot of you! Look above his head!" roared the old woman now known as Baba.

At once, the entire crowd took a somber tone as they looked up. They all had a collective gasp as they saw a halo floating above Goku's head.

"S-Sorry guys, I told you guys that I was in Heaven but you didn't believe me." said Goku sadly.

"S-So its true then? You really are dead." asked Chi-Chi, who was trembling now.

"I'm afraid so." replied Goku, in which Chi-Chi's face took a blue hue before fainting on them.

"C'mon, get a move on!" said Baba irritably.

"Give me a couple of more minutes." requested Goku.

"Fine! But no longer than two minutes." replied Baba.

"Look, I'm sorry for getting your hopes up but really, I am dead. I just ask that you all don't mourn for me anymore. Look, I have my body and from what King Yemma is telling me, there is a powerful martial arts master by the name of King Kai who is willing to train me! I'm going to be fine!" said Goku cheerfully.

"That's our Goku...fighting always on his mind." said Krillen with tears in his eyes, but feeling not so sad anymore.

It was then that Goku went up to each and every person.

"Bulma, I can never thank you enough for letting me tag along with you when I was a kid. I know that I am not the brightest person and that I may have annoyed you with my lack of knowledge. But if it were not for you I would have never dreamed of coming this far. You have my thanks and blessings." said Goku.

Bulma could not help but weep at his kind words but as with Krillen, she did not feel utter sorrow in her tears. She would miss Goku but the dark burden on her heart was lightened by the fact that Goku indeed would be alright in the after-life.

It was then that Goku went over to Yamcha.

"Yamcha, you were the first person since my grandfather to beat me in a fair fight. I will admit that I thought highly of myself and my fighting skills when I first left with Bulma but after losing to you, I suddenly realized that I was not the strongest out there. Losing to you was probably the best thing to ever happen to me since it kindled the desire in me to become stronger. The strength I posess now can be attributed to you. I thank you and I wish you the best of luck in the future." said Goku.

Yamcha, being a desert bandit and such, was hardened and normally did not expose his feelings. Yet even he felt his eyes sting a bit from the water building up in them. Goku was one of the few true friends he has ever had. Losing him would hurt but he knew that Goku would be happy in Heaven.

Goku then went over to Oolong and Puar.

"To the both of you I owe you my life. There have situations in which we would have died if not for your abilities to shape shift. I am alive because of it and as such, I have come as far as I had. The fact that you two were really funny made things nice too! Take care you two, my blessing go to you." said Goku.

Both Oolong and Puar went over to embrace Goku, both saying "Oh Goku!" while weeping loudly. Goku comforted them before they soon let go. This would be the last time in a long time that they would see him.

Goku then went over to Master Roshi.

"I cannot thank you enough for the training you have put me through. You gave me somewhere to live, you fed me and put up with me and my antics. I am honored to have been your student as I had found out so much about myself when I trained with you. Though your life has been long, I wish it to be longer still. You have my blessings and I say that one day, you idea of a curvy woman will be yours one day." said Goku as he made a curvy impression with his hands.

Everybody laughed at the light-hearted comment while Roshi blushed a bit in embarrassment. Still, the boy had grown up and surpassed him and Roshi knew that Goku would be happy, where ever he went.

Goku then went up to Krillen.

"You have been my best friend Krillen. I remember the one time that you cheated me out of dinner and I thought that I could hate you for it. Yet, the animosity that stood between us has dissolved and now, I can't imagine my life without you there to back me up. It was because of you that I pushed myself, knowing that someone was always there right at my heels, pushing me further and faster than I thought possible. You have been a great friend and in the future, I give my blessings that you will find that "girlfriend" that you have always wanted. I only ask that you look after Chi-Chi as I requested before. You are the only one to whom I trust to do this." said Goku.

Krillen went up to Goku and hugged him about the waist.

"I won't let you down Goku." said Krillen before they parted.

Goku then went to the unconcious Chi-Chi.

"I am sorry that you are not awake to hear this. As I said when I lay dying in the ground, I love you and it pains me that I cannot be with you."

It was then that Goku stooped down and kissed Chi-Chi. He saw that her demeanor, which looked so sorrowful, lit up a bit as she blushed unconciously.

"Take that with you and remember that I loved you and that we may be together again soon. Goodbye." said Goku.

Goku then went up to Tien.

"I want to say that even though I did not know you very long, you have shown me that there is still much more out there for me to learn. My fights with you have been some of the hardest that I have ever been through. You pushed me to the limits of my mind and body and though you were once a bad person, you have repented and become a good person. You are kind and devoted. I wish you the best of luck...friend." said Goku.

Both Tien and Goku shook hands and the glances they exchanged were filled with warmth and mutual respect.

Last but certainly not least Goku went up to Ranma.

"I have to admit that you are a strange one. I still can't make up my mind whether you are truly a girl or boy!"

"I'm really a guy, this girl body was from a curse." said Ranma.

"Well, I do hope that one day you find a cure since I can tell that you do not enjoy being a girl. Despite that, you have my utter gratitude for defeating the Demon King. Though I know that you did not do it all on your own, it was of your technique that did him in. You have alot of potential and it saddens me that I won't be here to witness its growth nor test it out myself. But whatever it is, do not give up on the Art. Always train and better yourself, if not for yourself than for those you hold dear to you. You may have to call on that strength one day." said Goku.

Ranma blushed deeply as she heard Goku say these things as the image of Akane suddenly burst into her mind. The fact that she nearly failed Akane during the battle with Saffron came back all of all sudden and it was at this moment that Ranma knew that there indeed lay other threats and thay he could not be lax. Like Goku, she vowed to protect those she held dear with her own two fists.

"To all of you, do not worry about me any longer. I will leave now. Goodbye and live happily!" said Goku as Baba took his arm and both soon disappeared from sight.

--

It was already evening and everybody except Tien and Ranma had departed from the tournament site, both of whom electing to stay behind when the others offered to take them back to the mainland.

They said their goodbyes and Tien knew that at this moment forward, he was probably not going to see any of his friends again. Goku was the glue that held them together as they all held a common goal.

But without him, Tien planned on staking out a path of his own. So he bid farwell to his friends, as did Ranma to them as well.

"So Ranma, what are you going to do now that the tournament is over?" asked Tien.

"Well, I was planning to go back to my own dimension." said Ranma before she clapped her hands on her mouth, realizing her mistake.

"Ah ha! I knew that there was something funny about you." said Tien as the statement from Ranma confirmed his suspiciouns.

"Okay Three Eyes, you got me. I am not from here. I actually come from another dimension, in a country known as Japan." said Ranma.

"Japan? Never heard of it. How is it?" asked Tien curiously.

"Its alright but the town I live in is full of wackos. It will take me all day telling you about it but still, I am not sure." said Ranma.

"Not sure of what?" asked Tien.

"I don't know if I want to go yet. I mean, there is so much for me to learn and I was hoping to kinda train here for a while." said Ranma.

"Well, that's good and everything but Ranma, how EXACTLY did you get here? Do you have some sort of power to open the dimensions?" asked Ranma.

At that, Ranma had to laugh, which annoyed Tien a bit but soon Ranma calmed down before replying.

"No, I had a device in which I could travel the dimensions. Now where did I put-"

Ranma suddenly stopped talking as she her mind relayed the events that happened during the tournament. The events leading up to the gigantic explosion.

"Oh no!" yelled Ranma.

"What's wrong?" asked Tien.

"The device! I hid amongst the bushes but its probably destroyed now! Piccolo destroyed the entire area!" said Ranma.

"What!"

--

Later that evening, both Ranma and Tien made their way to the hospital. According to them, Chaouztu was going to be fine but Tien could not help but blame himself over what had happened.

"Look, he was devoted to you and besides, he entered the tournament out of his free will. You have nothing to be ashamed of." said Ranma as she tried to counsel Tien.

"I know, its just that Chaouztu is my best friend. He used to be an emperor and I was his personal guard. Both of us were trained in the Art of the Crane and I have known him since he was but a child. Even so, from what I have heard, the royal guard will soon come to pick him up. He is going to resume his position as emperor but I am no longer worthy of protecting him." said Tien.

"I am going to leave him a letter. I put his life through much danger and toil and he even died for my sake once. Never again, now that the Dragonballs are gone. I will leave him be and he can live the life he has always deserved. One of comfort and leisure." said Tien.

So Tien wrote the letter and placed it by Chaouztu and steeled himself not to weep. He loved Chaoutzu like a brother but he knew that he could no longer interfere with his life. After that was done, both Tien and Ranma went outside and started to walk down the street path. It was dark out already.

"What now Three Eyes?" asked Ranma.

"I will wander about.I figure that I can get a job and once I have enough money, I could open a dojo up and take students. That is my plan at the least." replied Tien.

"I see." said Ranma.

"What are you going to do then Ranma? You said that you can't get back home. What are you going to do?" asked Tien with some concern.

"I really have no idea. I figure I can train in the wilderness and hone my skills. Or maybe I can ask that old man to train me. He looks to have some techniques I could learn." said Ranma.

"I could train you if you like." said Tien.

Ranma turned around in near surprise. Now this was something she did not expect. Three Eyes training her!

"I-I don't know what to say." said Ranma, a bit flabbergasted.

"Its fine if you do not want to train with me. Your style is your own but I can give you a few pointers. Plus, I can teach you to fly." said Tien.

Now being able to fly was something Ranma would REALLY look foward to. She knew that the "Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts" excelled in air combat and if she could fly, she could utilize the strongest portion of her Art to its maximum. The possibilities flying could offer to the "Anything Goes Martial Arts" was endless and Ranma could not help but feel geedy over it.

"You got yourself a deal!" said Ranma excitingly.

"Great!" said Tien.

Both walked on in a somewhat awkward silence however until Ranma spoke once more.

"Well, we still need a place to crash. I got no cash on me though." said Ranma.

"I don't either. I normally spend my nights at either the Crane Dojo or Kame House. But the Crane Dojo will probably not want me there anymore and Kame House is over 2000 km away." said Tien sadly.

Both sighed in the silence of the night.

They continued to shuffle forward, at a loss as to what to do. They heard various police sirens and such and they knew that the law enforcment was tight after the explosion incident. Nearly a third of the city hosting the tournament had been wiped off the Earth and there was much ruckus and commotion.

Soon, they were both out of city limits and were heading into the wilderness.

"I guess we can set up some sort of camp." suggested Tien.

"Sure." said Ranma.

Yet, before they begun to get too carried away, Ranma suddenly heard a familiar voice in his head.

"Tsk, tsk. I knew that you were going to lose the Dimensional Transporter. Still, you put up a great fight and I had the best TV show for the longest time watching it!"

"What! Old Man Chou? You there?" asked Ranma in his thoughts.

"Why of course, now, lemme make myself known!" said the old man as he soon made his in front of Ranma and a suprised Tien.

"Who are you? Answer quickly or begone." said Tien somewhat threateningly.

"My, quite a bark you posses there young one. I am Chou and I am of no danger to you. It was I who gave Ranma over here the means to come to this dimension." replied Chou.

"Old Man, you don't how happy it is to see you. Can you really take me back home?" asked Ranma eagerly.

"Of course! Even though the last Dimensional Transporter was destroyed, I have a bunch of them back at the shop. I knew you were in trouble so I just picked one up and 'poof!' here I am. We can leave right now if you wish." said Chou.

"Oh great! Awesome! I can go home now!" said Ranma happily as she jumped up and down in glee. Still, after a minute of doing this, she suddenly mellowed out.

"Wait. If I go now, then Three Eyes over there can't train me! Oh, its so hard to decide!" thought Ranma.

"I hope you don't mind me intruding Ranma but there is nothing left for me here. I would be honored if I were to go to your dimension. After telling me about 'Japan' and such, I feel as if I need a change." said Tien.

"I thought you would never ask Three Eyes! Of course you can come! With you around, I can probably get some peace back home with you backing me up!" replied Ranma excitedly.

"Thank you...Ranma." replied Tien telepathically.

"So, you are a mind reader as well. I am very impressed." said Chou to Tien telepatically.

"T-Thank you. It is an honor." replied Tien telepathically.

"Well, that settles it then! Both of you just hold on to my arm and we will be on our way!" said Chou outloud now.

Both Tien and Ranma grabbed hold of Chou's arms as they saw their vision blur before them. The world went black and soon, they disappeared from sight.

--

Author's Note: Well, this ends this story though I am thinking about making another arc with Tien and Ranma in Nerima though not anytime soon. I hope you all liked how Ranma completely screwed up the DBZ timeline. Anyway, I thank you all for reading and your reviews!


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